


The way of an Empress, How it all started...

by CrazyPsychopathicRabbit



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, One Piece
Genre: Character Bashing, Crossover, Explicit Language, Family, Gen, Genderbending, Harry Has a Twin, Out of Character, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-05-21 16:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 79,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6058921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyPsychopathicRabbit/pseuds/CrazyPsychopathicRabbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one really knows what had happened to the Gorgon Sisters while they had gone missing from Amazon Lily. Even less know of the origin of Boa Hancock or where she came from before the Elder Nyon had found her and taken her in. Now, this mystery shall be solved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Book 1 - Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _

_**Book 1** _

_ **Prologue** _

 

_**~ 1981 October 31, All Hollows Eve, Godric’s Hollow...** _

The night sky was cloudless and filled with few stars. A heavy silence was hanging in the night air, even though it was All Hollows Eve. To most it was better known as Halloween where kids could go outside in the night to play ‘Trick or Treat’ on adults. It was fairly common to them after all. Yet, to wizards and witches, and every other magical creature out there, Halloween was known as All Hollows Eve or Samhain, what most of those wizards and witches preferred to call it. Most wizarding families celebrated on this very night Samhain but not all of them did. There were some that did not believe in it anymore. Yet, others had grave reasons as to why it was impossible for them to celebrate it. For example, the Potters were not celebrating it. They were busy with another matter than this holiday, a very dangerous and grave matter at that.

The Potters were a well known family in the Wizardry World; most would refer to them of being of old blood. That may be because of the fact that the Potters could trace their ancestors back to the time of the foundation of Hogwarts, even farther than that, too. Some even claimed that the Potters helped to build the very castle where years upon years later, still children went to and learned what it means to be a wizard or a witch. Not many old wizard family could claim such and those who did, those were said to be the elite under them. Right now though, this was of no interest for the Potters that were in hiding from a Dark Lord that was after one of their children, possible even both. The place that they had chosen to hide at was in a small two story tall cottage in Godric’s Hollow.

The cottage lay atop a small hill in Godric’s Hollow. From the outside, the small cottage did not look like anything special. The paint was already peeling off of the walls and the wooden patio looked like it would break any time in. The windows were broken or shattered and from atop on the roof it looked like some of the roof tiles were missing. They left big and gaping holes. Yet, from the inside the cottage looked very much fine and had furniture everywhere. The outside was not matching up with the inside. That may have to do with the fact that the small cottage together with the Potters was under the Fidelius Charm. It is a very powerful spell which is able to hide just about anything if done right. Of course, this spell was in need of a trustworthy secret keeper or else, the spell may not work as it should.

The name in itself was already explaining how the spell works. The secret keeper was the keeper of a secret and was the only one able to talk about it, or tell others about this secret which he or she keeps. In short, the hiding place of the Potters was not about to be given price to anyone that did not know who the secret keeper is and as such does not know where they were hiding at. Well, save for the one that was the secret keeper and selected few whom were told about it. This was the best protection that the Potters had come up with after they had found out the Dark Lord, which was terrorizing their community, was now after them because of some prophecy.

Currently, the whole Potter family was found sitting in the living-room whilst the youngest was playing with a stuffed teddy bear. The family considered of four members who were James Potter and Lily Potter, the parents, and their twins, a boy and a girl. The boy was an exact copy of James Potter, save for the fact that he had Lily’s fiery red hair but anything other was purely James. The boy was named Charles Edward Potter. The girl on the other hand was coming more after Lilly, save for her hair which was an inky black just like her fathers. The girl’s name was Rose-Lynn Lily Potter.

“Ma~!” little Rose-Lynn shrieked happily when the teddy began to bore her. “Up! UP!”

Lily smiled at her daughter and her emerald green eyes softened up when she saw Rose-Lynn reaching for her, “Of course, sweetie, up you go!”

James was watching with sad hazel eyes his family in front of him. He couldn’t believe that something so dreadful was supposed to happen to his family. It was just so hard to believe for him when his old Headmaster told him of the prophecy and how it was fitting a bit too well with his family. He let his eyes travel to his son sitting on the floor and playing with some wooden train. A small smile made its way onto his face. Would he ever be able to see either of his children all grown up? James wasn’t someone to have such a negative look out in life but with the war going on, not even he could make himself believe the opposite anymore.

Especially with such a heavy threat hanging over his families’ heads, it was impossible for him to believe otherwise.

“Ma~! Ma~!” Rose-Lynn babbled happily out while playing with her mother’s fiery red hair.

“Huuuu!” Charles huffed out when the train did not go the way he wanted it to go.

“James?” Lily asked with a worried voice when she saw the expression on her husband’s face. “Are you alright?”

Smiling lightly and willing his dark thoughts away, James tried to reassure his worried wife, “Of course, I am, Lils. Don’t worry about me.”

“If you say so,” muttered a not convinced Lily while rocking a half asleep Rose-Lynn in her arms.

Smiling lightly at his wife doubting expression, James chuckled a little to himself. ` _Ah, good, old Lily, always worried about me and others._ ´

“I am taking Rosie to bed, James,” Lily suddenly said, something was giving her the chills and she had the feeling she should get away. ` _But why?_ ´ “Don’t do anything stupid with our son, James.”

“Why! I would never,” James said with humour in his voice.

“Don’t try to lie to yourself, now,” was the last thing Lily said before she turned to go upstairs.

James just smiled at his wife when he suddenly felt the wards around their cottage acting up. It was as if they were trying to warn him that someone was trying to enter their hide out that should not know about it. ` _But why?_ ´ It was absurd, Peter was their secret keeper and James trusted him not to tell anyone that was not supposed to know where they were hiding. Yet, something was telling him otherwise when the wards acted up again. It couldn’t possible mean...? When the wards just flared up yet again and this time with more force than before, James was sure. Their secret keeper had betrayed them.

“Lily! Take the children and run!” James could hear himself say.

“J- James? What’s wrong?” Lily asked fearfully while watching how her husband made a 180 degree turn in personality.

“It's _**him**_ , Lily. _**He**_ is here!” That was the only thing that Lily needed to be told before she took her son and darted upstairs. Maybe she could at least hide her children from the incoming monster before it was too late. She did not dare to turn around and take a look at her husband. She knew that this may be her very last time that she would hear or see James. She did not want to believe it right now, she would rather believe that they would make it out alive, both of them together with their children.

“I love you, Lily-Flower,” Lily chocked back a sob when she heard James whisper those words.

She did not have any time to answer him before their front door was blasted open and she could hear that high, cold and cruel cackle of the madman that was after her family. It sent shivers down her spine and it frightened her that she was able to hear the laughter up to the rooms of the children. ` _James, please make it out alive,_ ´ Lily thought while hiding in the nursery with her twins. ` _Let us all make it out alive of here!_ ´

Lily stared down at her children who had begun to cry the moment the door was blasted open. She couldn’t blame them. She would have cried, too, but she couldn’t, she had to be strong for her children’s sake and make sure that they made it out alive. Even if she had to sacrifice herself for it to happen, then so be it. She would gladly do it for her children’s sake.

“Hush, hush, my children,” Lily tried to say with a strong voice. “Mommy’s here, hush, hush.”

But the wailing of her son didn’t cease at all while her daughter’s wails suddenly seem to quite down and become silent sobs. How very strange, it was as if she understood her mother’s words. Lily smiled at her daughter and stroked through her dark hair, soothing the little babe even more. She tried to do the same with Charles but the baby boy just screamed louder. It seemed that nothing could stop his wailing. She smiled sadly at this. For him to not even calm down when she tried to comb his hair with her fingers, it was telling her how much afraid her son was.

Another loud blast was heard in the cottage suddenly and Lily turned around on her heels, staring with hard eyes at the person that had blasted the door away from the nursery. Charles wailing didn’t stop at all and seemed to become even louder while Rose-Lynn had suddenly become oddly quiet. Something was very wrong with that picture.

“Ah, thought you could escape, didn’t you, little Mudblood?” the high and cruel voice of the Dark Lord Voldemort rang through the room. “Did you really think I let you escape with those two filthy things?”

Lily bared her teeth at man clad in a dark robe which was hiding his whole being. That thing had not just gone and insulted her little babies! How dare he think that he could do that? He had no right to do that!

“You-!”

“I, what, silly girl?” the voice had taken on a mocking tone of sorts. “You should be careful there what you say to me or do you want to let your children to die so badly?”

“Never! My children won’t die, they never will,” Lily spat with disgust, she did not like where this was heading.

“You filthy monster, you are the only one that will die.”

“My patience is running thin,” anger was clearly heard in the voice, yet some sort of pride, too.

“Now, stand aside and let me kill those filthy half bloods!”

“NEVER!” Lily said with an outraging voice.

“I will never stand aside!”

“I am being generous to you, stand aside now!”

“No! I’d rather die!”

“Stand aside,” Voldemort was clearly angry at the silly woman now. Why did she not accept already? Her life for her children’s, it would make things so much easier for him.

“I will not ask you again!”

“I told you already! Never, you disgusting creature!”

“Very well, filthy Mudblood!” the hissing was well heard in the voice. “Avada Kedavra!”

And then, everything went black for one Lily Potter.

“Now to you, you disgusting things,” came the sneer.

_**~ Point of View from little Rose-Lynn...** _

Mommy? Why did you fall over, Mommy? Wake up, Mommy! The bad man is trying to hurt me and brother! Mommy, do something! I don’t like the way he is looking at us. Mommy, stand up! Come on, Mommy, make him stop. Make that bad man go away; I don’t like him and what he did to you. You should punish him like you did with Daddy when he is silly. He is pointing something at us. I don’t like it. It feels bad and he is laughing at us. Why does he do that, Mommy? The stupid bad man did something to brother, he is so silent. I don’t like this. Mommy? Wake up, already. This is not funny anymore. Mommy? Please? He hurt brother! You have to punish him now, like you punished Uncle Wormtail when he made brother cry. Mommy, why aren’t you answering me?

Bad man, this is your entire fault! You made Mommy go silent, you made brother go silent and you hurt Daddy. I don’t like you. Stop pointing with that silly thing at me.

GO AWAY! GO AWAY! GO AWAY! YOU HURT MY FAMILY!

You should feel the same as my Mommy and brother did!

STUPID BAD MAN! STAY STILL AND GO AWAY!

_**~ Change to normal Point of View...** _

Voldemort was staring with wide eyes at the little baby girl in front of him. He could feel something incredible powerful inside the little girl. He stared with wide eyes at how his Avada Kedavra was stopped in mid air and seemed to be pushed back at him. He tried to duck away from it but something powerful was holding him in place. He had no control over his body anymore and he could only stare with wide eyes at his incoming death.

“Curse you, Potter! You and your rotten family!” were the last things Voldemort said before everything went black.


	2. Book 1 - Chapter 1 New World, New Life

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _

_**Book 1** _  

_**Chapter 1** _

_**New World, New Life** _

 

_**~ Unknown time, Amazon Lily...** _

The Kuja Pirates were staring in shock at the toddler that had suddenly out of nowhere appeared in front of them. She had appeared on their ship, no less. They were in the middle of the vast big sea where no island was seen for miles or a ship for that matter. So, how was it possible for the toddler to appear on their ship like this? Out of nowhere, too! Said toddler had a mop of inky black hair and the brightest green eyes any of them had ever seen. It reminded them of their home, Amazon Lily, and the forest that was behind their village they lived in. But what shocked them all the more was the fact that the little girl was dressed in dirty and old lumps that were far too big for her.

“W- Who y- you?” the little girl stuttered out frightened. “W- Where I?”

Immediately murmurs broke out under the pirates. The captain of the ship took a step forward and was staring down at the little girl. She was a tall and big woman who was respected by her crew. Currently, she was staring at the girl in front of her that had appeared on their ship like this.

“I should be asking you that, shoujo,” the captain said with a voice that demanded respect.

“I ask first!” the girl said while sticking her tongue out. “But... Uncle and Aunt call me Freak... Mommy called me Rose-Lynn!”

The smile that was on the little girl’s face disturbed the pirates a little. They shifted uncomfortable around. How could the girl smile at the fact that her aunt and uncle called her freak? What was even more disturbing was the fact that the girl was smiling in a way that no toddler should smile like. The captain of the Kuja Pirates was still staring at the girl, seemingly showing no interest whatsoever as to what the girl had told her.

“You are on my ship, shoujo,” the captain said, eyeing the girl in front of her. “We are the Kuja Pirates.”

“E- Eh?”

_**~ Flashback ~** _

It was again 31 October. A year had passed since the attack on the Potters. It was also the day the Dark Lord Voldemort had perished while trying to murder the children of the Potters. Yet, it was also Halloween and there was only one thing that the public of the Wizardry World tended to forget about this day. It was also the death day of one Lily Potter, who had died on this very day to protect her children from a madman, some even claimed she sacrificed herself for their sake.

It was a dark day in the short history of this three headed Potter family and none of them would any time soon forget about it. James Potter had, surprisingly enough, lived though the attack on his family while his wife had not. She had sacrificed her life for that of her children’s. It was a high price to pay if you asked any member of the Potter family. Because the twins had to grow up without a mother in their lives and their father had to go on without his beloved wife. Yes, it was quite the tragic day for the little family of three. People tended to forget about this fact very often and always had to mention this day to the Potters, even though they should have known that it would hurt them to hear about it. However glorious this day was for others, it was not for the Potters. Especially, when your wife died and one of your children was dubbed the ‘ _Boy-who-Lived_ ’ by the public.

But James Potter had taken to all of this news the hardest, though. When his old Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had come to the Potter’s small cottage to check up on them, like he usually did, the old man had not thought he would be finding it in ruins. He had only wanted to update them on the status in the war and to visit his favourite adopted granddaughter, Rose-Lynn. She was the only person, well baby, that he knew of that liked his dressing style and shared the same love for lemon drops like he did. She always seemed to be fascinated with his strangely coloured robes and always wanted to sit in his lap to get a better look at them. The little baby girl was truly a delighted and happy baby.

Yet, he was so shocked when he saw the small cottage destroyed and heard an infant wailing. It wasn’t any infant either; it was Charles that was bawling his little lungs out. No doubt about it, he was afraid of what had happened and wanted his parents. But no one seemed to be coming. The only matter that worried Dumbledore more was the fact that he could not hear anything coming from Rose-Lynn. Why? The little girl couldn’t possibly be...? No, he refused to think like that. He had to find her before anything else might happen. He had already a bad feeling about this whole issue. Something was telling him that Voldemort had been here and attacked the Potters. That was impossible though, because they had a secret keeper. Peter wouldn’t have dared to sell his friends out to a monster like Voldemort... Now would he?

“I hope it is not like I think it is,” Dumbledore whispered to himself in a grave voice. “James, Lily, you should better be alright... For the sake of your children and mine!”

What he was about to find was destroying his little hope that he had left. War was such an ugly thing to happen.

**_ ~ Time skip a few hours later... _ **

Dumbledore was staring with a serious expression at the grieving man in front of him. Said man was no one other than James Potter. He was clutching the cold and lifeless body of his wife while his two children were with Dumbledore. Dumbledore was watching with sad blue eyes how a strong man like James broke down over his deceased wife’s body. He was shielding the twins from the view in front of them. He did not want them to see their father in such a state he was currently in nor should they see their mother like this. He doubted that James would even want for them to see their mother in such a state. Said children had actually fallen asleep the moment that Dumbledore had taken them into his arms. Not that either of the two men knew that this had happened.

“My boy, I am so sorry for what has happened to your family,” Dumbledore suddenly began, his voice filled with so much grieve and sadness. “But you need to get a grip of yourself. Your children need you right now. I know that you want to grieve over Lily but now, it is not the time for it, and I deeply apologize for this, my boy.”

There was a silence before it was broken by James’ raspy voice, “There is nothing to apologize for, Professor Dumbledore... I- I just...”

But James didn’t seem to be able to finish his sentence, yet Dumbledore knew what was bugging the young widower in front of him. He knew what inner turmoil the man must be feeling right now and that he was blaming himself for what had happened. It reminded him a little of a tragic accident that had happened in his own youth, so many years ago. ` _Such a tragedy... It was never supposed to end likes... Will you ever be able to forgive me, Arianna?_ ´

“I know, my boy,” he said with a heavy tone in his voice, the sadness and guilt in it was overwhelming. “Very well, I shall be taking the children with me for a few days and let you get everything in order. But! That does not mean you can take your time. Your family does need you and not this old man.”

If Dumbledore didn’t know it any better, then he could have sworn that he heard a broken chuckle coming from his ex-pupil. He did not really want to think about the fact that James Potter’s spirit might have been broken after such a tragic affair.

“Thank you, Headmaster.”

“James, I haven’t been your headmaster or your Professor for quite some time, now,” Dumbledore shook his head at being still addressed like that. “You may call me Albus, now.”

**_ ~ Time skip unknown amount of time, Godric’s Hollow... _ **

After this day, James had changed. He hadn’t been the same man after Voldemort had attacked his family and he had found out Lily had died. He had made a personality change and it was not a good one either. In fact, James had come to act somewhat cold towards his friends. Of course, they had expected this to happen but those changes, they were drastic. James had not only become cold towards his friends but his attitude had changed toward his daughter, too. It was something that had baffled one Remus Lupin and one Sirius Black.

The man that had once so much adored his little daughter treated her with such coldness; it surprised the people that had known him. Charles, on the other hand, was treated much the same as he had been before Lily had died. Well, with some exceptions. After Voldemort had been defeated, the public had demanded to know who had done it and as such it was revealed that one of the twins had been the one to defeat this Dark Lord. Yet, which one it had been, that was still kept in the dark. Everyone wanted to know who their saviour was, so they could show him or her their thanks. So, it was decided by the public, the Ministry actually, to name the heir of the Potter fortune the ‘ _Boy-who-Lived_ ’ and as such dub him as the one to vanquish the Dark Lord.

Of course, James was having none of it but this was not the reason as to why he was so cold towards his daughter. It was just that she was reminding him so much of his Lily. Never mind that the little girl had his hair colour but everything other was screaming Lily at him. It was hard for him to see a Mini-Lily every day while he knew that his wife was dead and gone. That Lily would not come back to him. So, of course, James was having a hard time to adjust to all of this and thus he had decided to concentrate most of his time on Charles. He just hoped that Rose-Lynn would forgive him when she was older and could understand him. ` _I am sorry, Rosie, I hope you can forgive my decision some day,_ ´ James thought sadly.

Because of him still grieving for his wife and having to see Rose-Lynn every day, James had made a decision. A decision he was not really sure if it was a good one or a bad one. Also he did know that it would be a bad idea to continue it on for him to ignore his own daughter like this. Thus, he had decided to send her to her aunt and uncle.

“James, you can’t be serious!” Sirius Black shouted at his best friend when he heard what he had planned. “Why not give her to me? She is my cousin, well somewhat! But she would still be with family.”

“As much as I hate to admit, Sirius is right, James,” Remus Lupin was staring at James with a hard stare. “Of all the people, why did you choose Petunia? You know how she loathes anything that has to do with magic, especially her sister!”

“I, well...”

“Just tell us, James!” Sirius pleaded. “Why can’t she come with any of us? What makes you so desperate to send her of to Petunia of all the people you could have chosen from?”

Remus was staring at his friend since their days in Hogwarts and could only stare with worry at how his friend avoided looking at any of them. ` _What is going on, James? You usually tell us what is bothering you. Why not now? What has you looking so guilty at us?_ ´

“Moony, Padfoot,” the steady voice and the serious tone in it let the alarm bells ring in Sirius and Remus’ head, especially with the way James used their nicknames. “I can’t stand the sight of my own daughter because she looks so much like her mother! I can’t stand to be in the same room as her! I don’t want to be a bad father... But I **_can’t_** go on like this, ignoring her in favour of Charles. I _know_ that it is wrong... But what can I do when not this? If she is with you, Sirius, I would have to see her. I just can’t do that. Not yet...”

There was a stunned silence in the kitchen. Sirius and Remus were staring in shock at their friend. They hadn’t known that it was so bad for him, that he was still suffering from Lily’s death like this. Still, it did not give James any right to give his own daughter away like this. Yes, they could understand from where he was coming from, Sirius better than anyone other. He had to go through the same with his own family, with them disowning him and how he had to see in school every day the smug face of his younger brother after they had thrown him out. Yet, he had stood strong through it all and had not let his family walk him over. He had ignored their displeased faces and disappointed expression towards him. That was, of course, before they had thrown him out.

If Sirius was honest with himself, it still hurt to just think of what had happened in the past. His family was really messed up when it came to such things. Now though, that James was now doing the same as his family had once done to him. He had never thought that his best friend would ever do such a thing. If Lily was still alive, she would give her husband a piece of her mind but she wasn’t and that might be the problem here.

“James,” Sirius spoke up suddenly, his face shadowed by his long black hair. “I swear to you, should you give my goddaughter away... Consider our friendship done and over with.”

“W- What? Sirius, you can’t be serious!” James’ head snapped up when he heard Sirius speak in such a serious, angry, hurt and grave voice to him.

He was looking at his best friend’s shadowed face and flinched slightly when he got a good look at the blank face underneath it. Of course, how could he forget? The Black’s had actually done the same to Sirius as what he was about to do to his own daughter, his too young daughter to understand the happenings around her. The only difference was that the Black’s had gotten rid of Sirius when he was fifteen while he was about to leave Rose-Lynn at the fragile age of three.

“I am being serious, Moony!” Sirius nearly barked out.

“S- Sirius!”

“No, Moony, that is final! Prongs should know as to how I feel about this,” Sirius didn’t look at either of them. “My own family did the same to me, too! And depending on his answer, I either stay or leave. It is his choice, Remus.”

“Aren’t you a bit too fast to judge like this?” Remus asked with a strained voice, he knew where Sirius came from and what he thought about family doing this to their own, but still.

“I am not, Remus!” this time Sirius did bark the words out. “What if Dumbledore hears about this, James? What do you think he would say about this? Do you really think that he would just accept this from you?”

“Sirius! You are going too far with his!” Remus was trying to keep the peace between his two friends but it was not working.

“I am not and you know it, Moony!” Sirius turned his attention back to James. “Well, what is your answer?”

“I can’t, Sirius, I just can’t!” James pleaded with his oldest and best friend. “Can’t you understand?”

Why couldn’t Sirius understand him? Was it really that much to ask of him? ` _It probably is... He doesn’t seem to see it my way,_ ´ James was staring with pleading eyes at Sirius. The hard look in his friend’s eyes and the blank face was telling him already everything that he needed to know. There was nothing to be said or done about it; Sirius was staying by his words.

“Then, James Potter, I have nothing to do in this house anymore, good day,” Sirius said in a sad tone before he turned on his heels and marched out.

And that was that. But when Dumbledore came to visit the small Potter family a day after, he was shocked to not find his little granddaughter in the house anymore. When he then got to hear as to what James had done, the old and wise Headmaster had left the Potter home. He couldn’t stand being near James after he had heard what he done to Rose-Lynn. He needed some alone time before he did something which he would be regretting. No good would be coming out of it.

But unknown to James, Dumbledore and Sirius, they would not be able to see little Rose-Lynn for years to come. If they had known, then maybe Dumbledore and Sirius would have tried harder to get James to leave Rose-Lynn with either of them. Maybe they would have gone and tried to find out where Petunia lived and taken her from there. Maybe James would have not given his own daughter away if he had known this, too.

But none of them had and as such fate and destiny took their course and they began to re-write the future. Be it good or bad, they would not know until nearly thirteen years has passed.

**_ ~ Time skip 1983 2 September, Number 4 Privet Drive... _ **

Three days ago, little Rose-Lynn Lily Potter had been dropped off at Number 4 Privet Drive. It was safe to say it was not something pleasant for the little girl because as soon as Petunia had seen her, all hell had broken lose. In a matter of those three days, little Rose-Lynn’s life had changed from good to bad. Well, maybe saying hell was a better term for it. The moment she had entered the house of her aunt, she had been ranted and rave at. Of course, not understanding most of, Rose-Lynn had been confused as to why this lady was so angry at her and always called her a freak. As far as the little girl knew she had done nothing wrong to deserve such name calling.

It had gotten only worse from there for her. Before little Rose-Lynn knew it. She had been stripped off of her nice clothes and given some over-sized shirts and shorts to wear. Her aunt had said that freaks like her did not deserve to wear such nice clothes like normal people, like her aunt. But it got worse from there. In a matter of those three days, Rose-Lynn learned the meaning of hate and deep loathing which no child should have ever learned in the first place.

“Freak, go to your room!” barked her uncle Vernon at her.

The little girl was afraid of this large man. He had frightened her when she first saw him and he had glared at her. So, without being needed to be told twice, she ran for her new room, the cupboard under the stairs. Having reached the safety of her new room, Rose-Lynn curled into a tight little ball and was asking herself why she had been left here. Had she done something wrong? Was her Daddy mad her for whatever she might have done wrong?

“I wanna leav’! I wanna ‘way!” whimpered the little girl to herself, not liking her new ‘ ** _home_** ’. “Daddy, wanna ‘ome! Wanna ‘way!”

And, just as if it was magic, Rose-Lynn suddenly vanished only to suddenly appear on the Kuja Pirates’ ship. Not that the little girl knew that it was her magic that had helped her out in this regard and only wanted to help its mistress to happiness again.

**_ ~ End Flashback ~ _ **

**_ ~ Time skip unknown amount of time later, Amazon Lily... _ **

After the crew had finally gotten over its shock of having suddenly a little girl with them, they had headed straight home. A little girl was not supposed to be on a pirate’s ship, at least that much they knew. Also, it did come as a great surprise to them when they had been suddenly attacked by Marines and the little girl seemed to be able to hold her ground against the grown men. It should have been physically impossible for her to do so. What had shocked them even more though, was the fact she was knocking them all out with just a glare. How was something like this even possible? It wasn’t until they heard their captain answer this question, were they even more astounded of his little girl.

She was indeed a mysterious girl, that one she was.

“I can’t believe this, the brat has Haki!” a shocked expression had attached itself onto the captain’s face.

“EH!” a collective gasp went around the crew; they were staring disbelieving at the little brat.

“What’s that? Can I eat that?” said brat asked with a tilt of her head.

“Kyaa~! She is so cute~!”

“Aww~! I want to hug her~!”

“Can we keep her?”

“She might be a great assist to our village!”

“I could eat her right up~! Sooo kawai!”

But this happened before they had reached Amazon Lily and now, they had a different matter to settle. A matter with heir Elder of the village because it needed to be discussed as to what was supposed to happen to the girl. It was something which they all dreaded to do. Even though, they knew it needed to be discussed it, it did not mean that any of them was looking forward to it.

Rose-Lynn, but mostly referred to as brat which she had been lovingly dubbed by the crew, was staring with wide green eyes at her new surroundings. Everything was so new to her and she wished that she had about eight more eyes to take it all in. The people that were surrounding her were so strangely dressed, too. It was foreign to her. What surprised her even more though, was the fact that snakes seemed to be everywhere in the village where she looked at. There were giant and small ones, strangely coloured ones and some even with strange patterns. Heck, it seemed that the snakes were living just about everywhere in this village. ` _Strange people with their snakes,_ ´ Rose-Lynn thought while approaching a white snake and a red snake. They were eyeing her in a way that made her want to poke them.

And poke them she did. She giggled lightly to herself when the red snaked hissed at her and was telling her rudely off for hurting him. Unknown to Rose-Lynn, she was being watched by the whole village the moment she had approached the two giant, still growing, titanboas. The women were wondering what she would do while being near those snakes and were surprised when the girl had the guts to poke it. What came as an even more shock to them was when the brat actually hissed back at the snakes!

“W- What is she doing?” one of the guard’s of the village whispered loudly. “They will eat her alive!”

“Is she hissing back at the snake?” another woman asked, she was fairly tall with short orange hair.

“Silence!” an elderly voice called out. “Who brought this girl to us?”

All eyes had turned to look at the figure that had spoken. It was the Elder of the village, an old and wise woman known as Nyan, well she was mostly referred to as Elder Nyan or just Elder. She was a small woman and wore a white and red coloured robe; in her left hand she had a staff in the colour of orange which had a snake as its head. She was staring with half lidded eyes at the women in front of her, wanting to hear an answer from them. When none came, she frowned at them and pressed her lips into a thin line. ` _Now, why are they acting as if they had committed a crime? Very curious,_ ´ the old woman was asking herself while not letting her eyes trail away from the women in front of her.

While the women of Amazon Lily were busy with each other, little Rose-Lynn was finding herself sitting on the back of the red titanboa who she had dubbed Reddy. As it turned out, the red titanboa was actually a male and quite curious as to how a human was able to speak the honourable snake language. So, the first thing that the two titanboas did was to riddle the poor girl with so many questions as to how it was possible for her to do such.

Sighing, Elder Nyan whacked the captain of the Kuja Pirates behind her head, “Was that so hard to tell me, girl?”

“Yes, you blasted old hag,” muttered the captain while rubbing her head. “That hurt, old ghoul!”

Another whack was given out, “What was that for?”

“For being cheeky, girl!” snapped the old woman back, her patience was running thin. “Now, tell me... why you have brought this girl to our island, our village!”

All eyes were on the captain right now but the ones from the crew. They knew as to why their captain had brought this girl to their village, to their home. It was all simply because the girl was possessing Haki. Now, one might think their captain took her back to their village to use as a possible weapon but that would be a lie. Because in Amazon Lily just about everyone knew how dangerous Haki could be, especially when it is not trained rightfully by the one that possessed it. It was asking for the apocalypse to be unleashed.

“Tch, crazy old bat,” the captain spat out before turning her head away to watch the girl by the snakes.n“She possesses Haki, Elder Nyan. What do you think I took her back for?”

Said Elder stared at the captain in front of her with hard eyes, “If what you say is true... Then, this girl is nowhere safe, especially when the Marines get their hands on her.”

A sombre silence went around the women while they were staring at the girl who had fallen asleep on the red titanboa. Each of them knew about Marines and some of them even could tell their own stories of meeting them. They all had their own fair share of experiences with them, some even worse than others. As that, one thing was very sure for them all. The Marines were never to be trusted when it come to issues with them, especially when it involved Haki or Akuma no Mi. So, the Kuja Pirates had made it to their goal to always manipulate the Marines’ ships when they saw them on their ways to _explore_ the ways of the Grandline or other islands.

Elder Nyan was in deep thought while a frown was gracing her face and she was watching the white and red snake hissing to each other. While watching the giant serpents hissing to each other over the sleeping child, Elder Nyan was keeping her eyes firmly on the sleeping child. She turned everything other out, she was trying to come to a decision regarding on the child. Even she knew that it would be cruel to send the young girl on her way again, if the marines found her. Then, the girl’s life was over as she knew it. It was no option to just leave her like that; the same was with giving the girl away. The possibility that the Marines would hear from others was too great.

But if the girl stayed with them, then no one would ever hear about her. After all, Amazon Lily did lie in the Calm Belt where there was no wind to carry ships away and Sea Kings were said to be living. Only the Kuja Pirates were able to cross it with their ships that they had especially built for doing just that.

“Elder Nyan, what will happen with this girl now?” a petite woman with dark brown hair asked.

The elder was silent for a moment while letting her eyes rest on the two snakes and the little girl. Somehow, this picture reminded her a little of a family where the mother and father were cooing over their child. ` _The girl cannot leave this island for her own safety... Maybe she would make a great addition to our village and a great warrior if she is able to use Haki at this age already. Granted, she does not know that she is doing it. She is destined to be great, I can feel it in my old bones,_ ´ Nyan was musing to herself. ` _She would make a fine warrior some day._ ´

The women were all staring at the little girl curled up on the red snake. It was a very cute and adorable picture for them. They had never seen something like this in their village, even though each of them had grown up being surrounded by snakes. None of them had ever had the guts to dare to go to a snake and use them as a pillow. Their respect to them was too great for that to ever happen.

“Very well, I have decided. The girl shall be staying,” Elder Nyan spoke after some silence which immediately drew all eyes to her. “She will part of our village from now on and she will be gaining a new name. The risk is too great for the Marines to find her under her old name, should someone come looking for her. But I doubt it with the way she is dressed.”

There was first a silence under the women while they let the words of their Elder sink in. The Kuja Pirates were the first ones to cheer their agreement to this. After all, the little girl had managed it to worm her way into their hearts very fast in the short time she was around them. The villagers on the other hand let out silent squeals of delight that the cute little girl was allowed to stay with them. “Elder,” one woman spoke up, she had a child settled on her hip.

“Who shall be looking after her?”

The eyes of Nyan turned immediately to the woman that had spoken. The woman in question had very dark green hair while the girl’s hair was a shade lighter than the woman’s.

“Not to worry about this, I will be looking after her,” Nyan said with a tone in her voice that spoke of no disagreement with her.

“And what is her name?” another asked, curiosity clearly shown in her voice. “I mean, we can’t keep calling her girl or by her old name!”

“I realized that,” Nyan seemed to snap at the girl as if she was insulting her. “Because she seemed to have taken a liking to the titanboas... The girl shall be known as Boa Hancock from this day onward!”


	3. Book 1 - Chapter 2 Through the years, Amazon Lily

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 1** _

_**Chapter 2** _   
_**Through the years, Amazon Lily** _

 

_**~ Amazon Lily, Boa three years old...** _

Not even a week had passed and the newly dubbed Boa Hancock was found riding on the back of the white titanboa. In front of the little girl was Elder Nyan who was staring with a serious expression at the girl and snake. Boa blinked and tilted her head to the side, not really understanding what the old lady in front of her wanted. Of course, she had understood that this village was now her new home after the kind old lady had explained it to her. But that still did not mean that she understood all that was going on around her. For example, Boa had yet to understand what the old lady wanted from her now. ` _What’s with that look...?_ ´

Nyan was staring at Boa in front of her. She was trying to think of a way to teach the girl the ways of their tribe here at Amazon Lily. But where could she start at? ` _Maybe I should start with the traditions of the tribe? It would do the girl good to know why we fight... Even with our village having mostly warriors in it, we don’t start their training until the age of five... But what could I teach her after our traditions? Our history is of equal importance... But I doubt she would be able to listen through it all,_ ´ Elder Nyan was musing to herself while frowning. ` _She is a young girl and I know that the young ones hate to listen to our history. They do think it is boring. Perhaps, I should combine those two. I would be able to cover many topics in one go and it would keep the girl entertained, then. She wouldn’t lose her interest in it too fast, either._ ´

Boa, having grown bored with being stared at, decided to climb off the white titanboa’s back and explored the surrounding area she was in. After all, this big forest seemed to be inviting her to just get up and explore it and find out about its many secrets. Maybe she would find an adventure or two in there, too!

“ _Where are you going, little snakeling?_ ” the white titanboa asked when she felt the girl climbing off of her.

“ _Exploring! This is so interesting ‘ere!_ ” Boa said while climbing over a fallen log.

“ _Snakeling, the forest is dangerous. You mustn’t go alone in there, you hear me?_ ” the white giant hissed in what seemed to be a worried sounding hiss.

“ _Yes, yes!_ ” but Boa wasn’t listening and just continued on.

“ _Hatchling... so troublesome!_ ”

But the little girl continued eager on with her exploring. The way the deep forest seemed to call to her was much more interesting to her. Elder Nyan, regrettably, was too deep in her thoughts that she had yet to notice her young ward’s missing status from her. It would take a few minutes for the old woman to notice it, too. But until then, little Boa had already found her way deep into the forest of Amazon Lily and had gotten her adventure that she had wished for.

_**~ Time skip a few minutes later, deep into the forest with little Boa...** _

Boa was staring in awe at the tall trees which were around her. They were so full and lush with greens of all variations. She had never seen so many shades of greens in one place! It was breathtaking at how beautiful it looked together like this. Walking further into the forest, Boa failed to notice how one of the many predators that lived in said forest had began to follow her the moment she had left Elder Nyan’s presence and the white titanboa behind her.

“Pretty!” Boa squealed out when she saw a pink flower. “So cute ~!”

Running to said flower, Boa kneeled in front of it and stared at it. It looked really pretty with the way it was coloured. The flower had many buds sprouting from its main stem. Each bud was coloured either in a lighter pink or a darker pink. It nearly looked like a rainbow of pink. ` _A rainbow only made of pinks!_ ´ Boa thought delighted. Being so deep into her own little world, Boa hadn’t noticed how a giant tiger had sneaked upon her. She had also failed to notice that the tiger was about to swallow her whole but what she did notice was how it suddenly got so dark and some hot air which felt wet for some reason was whirling around her. Not to mention, the fat droplets of water falling around her.

That was clearly not a good sign for her. Slowly looking up, Boa swallowed nervously the lump that has formed in her throat down. Her eyes widened in shocked when she saw that she found herself in a giant maw. That was actually a very bad sign and before Boa could control herself, she let out a blood curling scream. The tiger, not knowing what was about to happen, wanted to swallow up the tasty morsel it found but came as stiff as a board suddenly. Its eyes rolled into the back of its head and before it knew it. It had fainted from an incredible force that went like a shock through its whole body. Boa was staring with wide eyes at the tiger that had suddenly fallen over.

Just what had happened suddenly? Why did the tiger fall over like this?

“BOA!” Elder Nyan called out with a worried tone when she had seen the tiger was about to eat her up.

Boa kept silent though, she too deep in a state of shock to register as to what had happened to her. Or, what might have had happened to her if the tiger had not suddenly fainted like this. So, she didn’t really hear the Elder talking to her.

“What have you been thinking to just run off like this, Boa?” Nyan’s voice was still laced with worry while she made her way over to Boa. “You could have been eaten by beasts in the forest!”

“E- Eh...!” Boa, still in shock as to what had happened, was slowly crawling backwards, away from the tiger.

“ _Silly, snakeling, I told you this was dangerous,_ ” hissed the white titanboa out, it having followed Boa.

“ _S- Sorry,_ ” Boa hissed out, a light hiccupping to her voice.

Elder Nyan was meanwhile more worried about the fact that the tiger was unconscious in front of her. As far as she knew, no one of their tribe was near the area she was in with Boa, thus none of them could have used Haki to take the tiger out. So, who had done it? Of course, she knew Boa possessed Haki. She doubted it that the girl could have this much luck to use it again. ` _It couldn’t possibly be... could it?_ ´ Elder Nyan asked herself while staring at the shaking Boa who was clinging to the white titanboa.

“Boa!” Elder Nyan was pleased with herself when the little girl looked at her. “Come with me.”

“B- But..!”

“No, we start your training, now!”

_**~ Time skip, Boa four years old, Amazon Lily...** _

It had been exactly a year since Boa had first appeared on the Kuja Pirates’ ship. It had also been a year since she had first come to Amazon Lily and had been taken in by Elder Nyan. In that year many things had happened since Boa came to the village.

For example, after Boa’s little adventure in the forest with the tiger, Elder Nyan had seen it fit that Boa had to be trained immediately. She had to be taught by the warriors as to how to control her Haki. The accident with the tiger had Elder Nyan clearly shown that Boa had not the time to wait for the two years to pass until the training starts. The little girl’s Haki had begun to work on its own to protect its mistress. Some might say that it was a good thing but others would claim otherwise. Of course, both sides were in the right, in a way. Yes, it is a good thing that it protected Boa like this but because of the fact that her Haki is protecting Boa on its own; it also meant that it was making Boa’s life harder. The Haki would see just about everything and anything as a threat that scares Boa and thus the little girl would not be able to make any friends in the tribe, at all. Heck, she would not even be able to interact with the older women of the tribe also.

The situation could be going out of hand should Boa not learn to control her Haki soon enough. Thus, Boa had to be trained to control her Haki if the girl liked it or not, it had to be done.

But that was that. Today though, Boa had her birthday party. It was decided that the girl’s birthday would be on the day she had first come to Amazon Lily, 2 September.

**_ ~ Town Square... _ **

Boa was staring wide eyes at the birthday cake in front of her. She had never seen a cake this big or decorated with so many snakes in her short life. The snakes were either in form of candies, sugar, chocolate or whipped cream. But nevertheless, she liked the cake presented to her. She looked around the Town Square to see that the whole tribe had come together for her birthday. Not that this was anything special. Because, it didn’t matter who celebrated their birthday, the whole tribe would always attend as a whole, then. It was a sign for them to show that they were one big family and were holding together as a tribe. Of course, that also meant many presents for little Boa.

A big table had been set up to that was holding mountains of food. Funnily enough, the table also seemed to be able to hold the food without breaking in. It was a little miracle, really. Boa was still staring at her cake while the others were eating around her. The women were cooing and chuckling at the adorable sight in front of them. They had never seen someone be as cute as Boa. Of course, maybe it had also to do with the fact that Boa was sitting on a curled up titanboa, it was the red one this time. It made it even more adorable for them with the clear difference in size between the two of them. While the women were either busy with eating, cooing or chuckling at Boa, talking between each other and watching others before something went out of hand.

After having come out of her staring trance, Boa had taken to try about every food that was laid out in front of her. She wondered if she would be able to try them all without getting sick.

“ _Careful there, hatchling_ ,” an orange snake from her left hissed. “ _Or do you want to get sick?_ ”

“ _Nu-uhu! ‘M neh rettin‘ sweick!_ ” Boa said between mouthful of rice and curry.

“ _Silly, hatchling_ ,” another snaked hissed out, it was blue and had red stripes, like a zebra. “ _You mustn’t speak with your mouth full! Your food might escape you, then!_ ”

Nodding, Boa swallowed before she answer, “ _Yes, yes, I get it. Speaking with my mouth being full, bad. Swallowing before speaking, good._ ”

“ _Good, snakeling!_ ” the snaked seemed to be pleased when he heard Boa’s answer.

_**~ Time skip, Boa nine years old, near the cost of Amazon Lily...** _

Boa was sitting at the edge of the cliffs from Amazon Lily. She was staring out at the sea and let out a sigh. She didn’t know what it was but something deep inside of her was telling her that something bad was about to happen in the near future. She didn’t know what it was, though and that worried her. Of course, since she first had come to Amazon Lily and Elder Nyan had taken her in, Boa had learned how to control her Haki. To say that it was a walk in the park would be a lie. It had been hell for her and it had taken her months before she could control it enough, so it would not attack anything that scared her. Through the years, Boa had learned more than controlling her Haki.

As soon as she had mastered her Haki, all form of it, enough to use it in a fight, Elder Nyan had decided to start her physical training. That meant she was to train with the warriors of the tribe and taught their ways of fighting. Not that Boa was complaining about it, it was far from it. She actually liked it. She had even met two girls; both of them were younger than her. One of them was a green haired girl called Sandersonia and other one was an orange haired one named Marigold. The two girls had recently started their training under the warriors of Amazon Lily and stumbled upon Boa training with Elder Nyan and one of the guards of the village. It was because of this that started a relationship between the three girls.

Seemingly fast, it seemed, the three girls began to bond together and were never seen without the other. The warriors had begun to call the three sisters as they did seem to be siblings to them. Boa, Sandersonia and Marigold really did every exercise in training together, spared together and went through just about everything together. In the three years that the girls had come together, they had learned fast under the guardians and warriors of their village. It was safe to say that this woke the curiosity of the Kuja Pirates. Elder Nyan had been pleased with her ward. Boa was incredible when it came to hand to hand combat. The power that the little girl was holding inside her tiny body, it was just amazing.

Boa snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her name being called.

“Nee-chan!” It was Sandersonia who was calling for her.

Turning her head a little, Boa’s eyes widened when she saw that Sandersonia was being followed by a giant ape. ` _Why is she running to me?_ ´ Boa thought while jumping off from her seat and taking off in another direction. Preferable far away from Sandersonia and her new giant ape friend, Boa would not stay around for this one.

“NEE-CHAN, WAIT FOR ME!”

“SANDERSONIA, WHAT DID YOU DO THIS TIME?” Boa yelled back while taking off into the tress.

Well, at least she could view this as an extra training. Also, it was her day off today, so much for that.

“I DID NOTHING! IT IS NOT MY FAULT THAT I LANDED ON ITS BANANA PILE!” Sandersonia cried out while rolling into some nearby bushes.

Boa, not believing this excuse, kept jumping from tree to tree. ` _Why does she have to be such a trouble magnet?_ ´ Boa asked herself while ignoring the fact she was one, too. Also, the difference between her and Sandersonia might be the fact that Boa actually went looking for trouble. Sandersonia really stumbled into her trouble on accident, though. ` _No time to think about this, Hancock! You have an ape to escape!_ ´

Sandersonia, still in her bush, stared in awe at how her older sister figure who was dodging the giant ape’s attacks and keeping him busy. ` _Nee-chan is so awesome!_ ´ she was amazed at how easily Boa was jumping from tree to tree. ` _I wanna be like her, too!_ ´

“Nee-chan is so cool!”

While Sandersonia was busy with admiring her older sister, said sister was busy with the giant ape and cursing her friend to hell and back. Now, she had to take care of this ape on her own while Sandersonia was somewhere safe. ` _Well, I suppose it is better this way, I **am** after all her older sister. I am supposed to look after her,_ ´ Boa dodged another angry swipe from the ape. ` _This overgrown monkey really needs to cool down! I don’t have any more time for this!_ ´

“OUT OF MY WAY!” Boa exclaimed while jumping at the ape.

The ape was staring at the foolish human in front of it. Boa who had jumped at it with her arm cocked and ready to punch it was staring the ape dead on its eyes who was about to attack her, too. She did not let it come this far. Because, before the ape could actually do anything, Boa had concentrated some of her Haki in her eyes to let the ape freeze up and then punch it in the face, knocking it out cold with that punch. The ape fell over like a rock; it was as simple as that after Boa had successfully punched it.

“Stupid monkey, you don’t mess with me and my own!”

Sandersonia who had crawled out from under the bushes was staring in awe at the defeated ape. ` _Nee-chan is strong..._ ´

“Nee-chan!” Sandersonia tackled Boa into a hug.

“Wh- What! Hey, don’t do that!” but there was s smile on Boa’s face.

_**~ Time skip, Boa twelve years old...** _

Another three years had come and gone in Amazon Lily and Boa Hancock had flourished in those years. Not only had the little brat, as Elder Nyan had come to call her, managed it complete her training two years ago. But Boa had also managed it to become an apprentice under the Kuja Pirates. This in itself was speaking highly of Boa’s skills. Marigold and Sandersonia, who had begun to call Boa now ‘ ** _Onee-sama_** ’ due to this, had taking their training even more serious, now. They were greatly impressed at how Boa had managed to achieve her apprenticeship and was allowed to leave island and could see the world outside of Amazon Lily together with the Kuja Pirates. The two girls also wanted to go and leave the island, together with their older sister.

Of course, that also meant that they had to train more, now. If that meant that they could be out on the sea together with their sister Boa, then they would do it. Boa on the other hand had to manage a whole other training. If she had thought training with the warriors and guardians of her tribe had been bad, then training with the Kuja Pirates was a whole new experience. It was downright hell for Boa and sometimes she wondered how she was still able to stand after a day of training with them. Their training was so much harder than the training she had to do before. It was this that had shown Boa the difference between the Kuja Pirates and the warriors of the tribe.

But currently, Boa was enjoying a rare day off for her. Tomorrow, the Kuja Pirates were supposed to set sails since they had taken Boa in as an apprentice. This would also be Boa’s first time out on the sea and away from Amazon Lily since she had come to the island all those years ago. Of course, Boa was hopelessly giddy to finally see the world outside her home and she could not really wait for tomorrow to come.

Currently, Boa was found sitting near the shores of Amazon Lily. Marigold and Sandersonia were sitting on either side of her. Thus, they were successfully sandwiching Boa between them.

“Onee-sama, what do you think you will see?” Marigold asked from Boa’s left side.

“You’ll tell us all that you see, yeah?” Sandersonia asked from her right side.

Boa tilted her head to the side, a mischievous grin on her face, “Maybe~!”

“ONEE-SAMA!”

Boa just laughed at the outrage yelled from her little sisters in all but blood. My, it was always so much fun to tease those two. Boa smiled softly at the two younger girls in front of her who pouted at her. Those two might be the possible only people that Boa had bonded and opened up with. Not even Elder Nyan had such a close bond with Boa and the woman had been raising her.

“Don’t worry you two, I will tell you all about,” Boa’s eyes were twinkling with hidden laughter.

“Onee-sama!” Marigold whined while Sandersonia just stared at Boa. “Don’t tease us!”

“Yes, yes,” Boa poked them both at their foreheads. “Maybe next time, you two will be able to come with me, eh?”

Marigold and Sandersonia stared at Boa like she had grown a second head. It was impossible for them to be able to come with Boa when the Kuja Pirates would leave Amazon Lily next time! Yes, the two girls knew that they were talented when it came to the art of fighting. They also knew that they were not this good just yet to be noticed by the Kuja Pirates. They were not like their older sister. Boa must be of her rockers.

Boa, noticing their looks, rolled her eyes, “What? Don’t you two believe me?”

“It is not that, Onee-sama,” Sandersonia began, not really knowing how to continue this without hurting Boa’s feelings or making it sound like some lame excuse. “It is... Well... Erhm...”

“Well, it is just,” Marigold didn’t really know either what she was supposed to say. “We don’t... erhm...”

Sighing, Boa shook her head in disappointment, “You two should really stop cutting yourself so low! Sandersonia, Marigold, you two should know that even Elder Nyan is impressed at your growing rates when it comes to your training.”

Blinking, both girls stared at Boa like she was still some kind of Alien. Boa, sighing at their locks, poked them both at their foreheads again, only this time she did leave a mark. Marigold and Sandersonia rubbed the sore spots on their foreheads and looked at Boa. What had they done wrong now?

“Hopeless!” Boa threw her hands up in the air. “Come on you two, I only have this day left with you before we set out tomorrow.”

That seemed to do the trick and both girls ran after Boa who was walking in the direction of the training grounds. Day off or not, Boa was going to show her little sisters they had enough talent to be noticed by the Kuja Pirates.

**_ ~ Time skip a few months later, Boa twelve years old... _ **

The past few months have been interesting to say the least for Boa. The first time being out on the vast sea together with the Kuja Pirates was adventurous and a great learning experience for her. It was not this that was having Boa’s attention right now. It was more of the fact that she had been tackled into a group hug by Sandersonia and Marigold as soon as she had set a foot on land. ` _What...?_ ´ Boa looked confused down at the two human shaped things that had attacked her and had to stifle her laughter. Sandersonia and Marigold were looking up at her like some kicked puppies that had been left alone at home while clinging to Boa as if she was their life line. Maybe she was their life line, whoever knows?

Sighing, Boa somehow managed to wriggle herself free from the two girls who were blinking at the empty spot Boa once had occupied. The women that had come together to greet the Kuja Pirates were staring in amusement at the three girls. It was so typical for that happen it was not even funny. Okay, maybe a little bit but it was adorable, too.

“You two...” Boa sighed out.

“Onee-sama! We missed you!” Marigold said while turning to look at Boa. “How was it?”

“Yes, how was it?” Sandersonia echoed, totally forgetting the fact that they had attacked Boa with a hug.

Face palming, Boa sighed and shook her head in good humour. Why was she even bothering to try and scold those two? It was not like those two would ever stop their doings. Or that it would actually work on them, come to think of it.

“Never mind that, how have you two been?” Boa asked, not really wanting to tell them just yet about her first journey.

And that was that. Boa was walking with her two little sisters away from the ship while being engaged in a conversation with them. The Kuja Pirates and women were staring with smiles on their faces at the three girls which were closer than any siblings could be. No one of them knew what the future was holding in store for those three but of one thing they were sure. It would possible be something great, that much they were sure about. What none of them knew was the fact that the three girls would go through so many hardships first. It would not be easy for them, especially when it came to the next time that the Kuja Pirates left the shore of Amazon Lily, this time with Marigold and Sandersonia in tow.

It would mark something tragic in their lives, yet it was also making Boa’s way into greatness beyond anyone’s believe. But this would take years to come.


	4. Book 1 - Chapter 3 A disastrous Voyage

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 1** _

_** Chapter 3 ** _   
_** A disastrous Voyage ** _

 

_**~ Time skip, Boa twelve years old, aboard the Kuja Pirates’ ship...** _

Boa together with Sandersonia and Marigold was sitting atop the figure head of the ship. Sandersonia was lying on her belly and kicking her feet up in the air, her eyes fixed onto the sea below her. Marigold was sitting next to Sandersonia and looking at the same spot as Sandersonia was doing. Just what was so interesting in that one spot that had their both attention fixed on it? Boa, on the other hand, was leaning back into the palms of her hands which were behind her and was staring at the sky. The feeling that something bad was about to happen seemed to be growing inside of her. Boa being Boa did not like this feeling, not at all.

Frowning, the twelve year old girl stared at one of the many passing clouds. There was something in the very air that was bugging her today. But what was it? It was frustrating Boa that she didn’t know what it was. She did not like it being left in the dark when it came to such matters. Letting out a sigh, Boa glanced briefly at her younger sisters and smiled at the faces the two made at the sea. My, my, if Boa had not known it better, then she would have thought that Sandersonia and Marigold did not know what the sea was like. She did know better and it was the two girls’ very first time out of the Calm Belt and being out on the Grandline. If Boa was honest with herself, she had been like this too when she had first seen the Grandline, not that she would ever admit it.

Of course, when she had been three, it had not really counted. She did not really had the time to study her surroundings at that time but after being officially out on the sea with the Kuja Pirates, she had changed that. It was simple breathtaking to be out on the sea and see the sun set and rise. It looked even more magnificent when on the ship than in Amazon Lily. ` _But today... There is really something different about the sea. Somehow, it feels wrong to be here... But why? The sea is calm and no storm is about to bypass us, so why?_ ´ Boa was so horrible confused about it all.

“Hey, hey, Marigold, look!” Sandersonia was pointing at a giant bird that was carrying a giant beetle in its beak.

“Eh! Look, it is so huge!” Marigold rubbed her eyes while staring with disbelieving eyes at scene in front of her.

Boa’s smile grew a little when she heard them and giggled lightly to herself. Sandersonia and Marigold were really cute sometimes.

The two women that had been staying on the deck with the three girls were shaking their heads. It was really adorable to see how those three acted sometimes. Hell, it still surprised them that all three of little girls were strong enough to get their captain to make them all three apprentices of them. The way they were acting sometimes let most think they were still children. Then again, those three did have their moments, too, when it came down to it. Well, today it seems, they wanted to be the children they would have normally been had they not been accepted as apprentices. Boa certainly had a lot of those days when she had first left with them Amazon Lily.

Of course, that did not mean that the girl had been avoiding any of her duties towards her training or helping on the ship. Heaven’s forbid, the girl was actually very amend in doing them. No one of them really knew why. Yet, maybe it was just the way the girl was like? It would certainly explain as to why she had managed to do so well in her training in all those years, especially with her Haki control.

“Hey, you three!” all three girls were staring at one of the women. “Don’t do anything stupid, now. We will go under deck and bring the laundry in.”

“Keep your eyes open for anything unusual, girls!” the other said with a humour lacing her voice. “Alert us or the captain as soon as you see something out of the unusual, aye?”

“Hai~!” the three girls chorused.

Laughing while shaking their heads at the enthusiasm the three girls showed, the two women turned on their heels and walked under deck. It was for them highly amusing at how eager the three girls were out on the sea. It was a little strange for them because when they remembered right. They had never been like this when they had been younger. They had rather wanted to go out on the sea without all that training and the chores that came with it. Those three really were something other; they did have to admit that one. It was actually really a shame that Boa, Sandersonia and Marigold were more eager to help on the ship than they themselves were. To be shown up like this by children, it was embarrassing.

Boa who had stopped watching the sky was looking at Sandersonia who had sat herself down onto Marigold. Marigold was kicking out and trying to get Sandersonia off of her but it was no use. Idly, Boa was wondering how the two were managing it to not just fall off of the figure head. Then again, when the three of them did something when did the normal logic ever work for them? They were defying logic most of the time.

“Hey, you two, stop that!” Boa was getting a bit annoyed at their behaviour. “We have to keep our eyes on the sea. Don’t tell me you want us to be ambushed?”

Huffing, Boa was scowling at her younger sisters and hiding her smirk at the crystal fallen faces the two gave her. It was so amusing for her to tease Marigold and Sandersonia like this. ` _Huh, but we should really keep our eyes on the sea... Something is telling me that something big is coming_ ,´ Boa turned her head a little to look at the sea.

“Yes, Onee-sama!”

Ignoring the two girls for now, Boa’s eyes narrowed at the calm sea. It was way too calm for her liking and as far as Boa knew, they had long since passed the Calm Belt. So, why was the sea so calm as if they were still in the Calm Belt? `Something isn’t right with this... but what?´ Boa glances at her two sister to see if they had noticed anything. But alas, the two were still arguing with each other. They were not really a help for her in this matter.

“Those two,” shaking her head, Boa was about to berate them when she suddenly froze up.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” a deep male voice spoke.

“Three brats,” another one answered, this one was clearly a female. “But they are not just any brats. Kuja ones!”

Boa had whirled around as soon as she had heard the first voice speaking and was staring with wide eyes at the two persons in front of her. Behind the woman and the man was a giant ship, it was easily towering above the Kuja Pirates’ ship. That was something not so easily done but what Boa did not know was the fact that the ship belonged to slave traders. Sandersonia and Marigold had frozen up in shock and very shaking like a single leaf in a hurricane. Both of the two girls did not know what they were supposed to do. Boa on the other hand had gotten over her shock and was glaring at the two in front of her. `D _amn it! Don’t tell me this is what that strange feeling was all about?_ ´ backing away a little, Boa was trying to think of a way to attack them the best.

The woman, which was actually a male dressed up to fool any potential slaves, and the other male were laughing when they saw how the three girls were reacting to them. They could not help themselves. It was just too amusing to them. Especially the one brat in the middle with her black hair, did she really think she would be able to beat them? Well, her face was clearly stating that she thought so but that did not mean that it was true, aye?

“Those three will get us a fine prize in Sabaody!” the voice of the supposed woman had gone deeper by now; the he-she had an ugly smirk on his face while saying this. “Imagine it, three brats from Amazon Lily! We will be rich, especially when we sell them on their own.”

“He, we could get even more for all three of them together,” the male said, a greedy expression on his face.

“Stay the hell away from my sisters!” Boa yelled, she did not want to hear where this was going.

_**~ Time skip, a little later on the ship...** _

The two women were staring with wide eyes at the empty deck in front of them. They had just been gone for a few minutes. They had been gone for a few minutes, so how was it possible for the deck to be empty and that there was no sign whatsoever of Boa, Sandersonia and Marigold? Where were those three? It was not like they could be anywhere hiding, right? The ship may be big but the deck was vast and there were not many objects that could hide anyone. They were not in the crow’s nest either because the three girls preferred the figure head. So, where were they? They could not be under deck either because then, they would have seen them. Or they would have at least heard from them

It was not like the girls either to just abandon their position and their duties. They took them serious and always went through with them, even if they were sometimes not logical or had any real use. But at least, those three did them. So, it was very worrisome for them to see no girls on the deck or to hear them. It was like they had been swallowed up by the sea itself.

“Marigold? Marigold, where are you? Come on out!” the taller one of the two women asked, worry lacing her voice while a troubled expression appeared on her face when no answer back came.

“Sandersonia? Come on, Sandersonia, you should know that this is not funny! Come out with your sisters, now!” the smaller woman’s voice was trembling, having already a bad feeling about this.

“Hancock? Hancock, come out this instant and bring your sisters with you. This joke has gone on long enough!” the two of them asked, getting even more worried when no answer came back.

But the silence seemed to be going on and on when no answer came back from them. That was when they decided enough was enough.

“CAPTAIN!”

_**~ Time skip a few days later, Sabaody Archipelago...** _

Boa was staring with something akin to hatred in her eyes at the guards that were guarding her cell. No, it was not something akin to hatred. It was downright loathing and venom in her eyes. Marigold and Sandersonia were behind her and shaking while clinging to each other. Their clothes had suffered a great time since they had been taken from the Kuja Pirates’ ship. The guards who had been leering at the little girls had suddenly fallen over when Boa had glared at them with such loathing and venom. While the guards were now out like a light, Boa turned to her sisters and her eyes immediately softened up at seeing their shaking forms.

She did not really know where she was at or why those people had taken her and her sisters from the ship. Yet, for one thing she was actually glad. She was relieved for the fact that they had not taken her sisters away from her just yet or brought each of them somewhere different. At least, Boa was still able to look after them, even if it was such a horrible matter that had come over them. As long as Boa was sure that Sandersonia and Marigold were safe and no real harm had come to them, she was not about to go on a killing spree. Well, not that she wouldn’t do it anyways.

But there was one thing stopping her from doing just that. It was that blasted collar that they had snapped around her neck and around her sisters’, too. She gritted her teeth when she remembered what those bastards had told her for what exactly those collars were used. It seemed like they were drawing some sadistic pleasure of seeing the faces of their prisoners’ faces when they told them all about those blasted things. ` _I swear, as soon as I get rid of this blasted collar, I kill them all for doing this to me!_ ´ Boa thought angrily. ` _Especially the males, they will pay with their blood! How dare they try to touch us Kuja in such a way!_ ´

“Marigold, Sandersonia,” Boa spoke up with a soft voice.

“Onee-sama...?”

Before any of the three girls knew it, Boa had taken them in her arms and was holding them close to her. She was biting her bottom lips so hard, it surprised Boa that it had not broken yet and was bleeding. Sandersonia and Marigold were a little bit shocked at the display of affection that Boa was doing but did not question it. They were in need of it right now after the scare from being kidnapped and nearly raped by those disgusting males. It was such an unforgiveable act of them! If Boa had not been there and killed the man with a well aimed kick, Sandersonia did not want to think about. ` _Onee-sama, I want to go home_ ,´ Sandersonia’s shoulders were shaking when she thought about their home.

Marigold on the other hand was not really understanding as to what had nearly happened to her. She knew from the reaction of Boa that it was something bad, something very, very bad for them. Of course, she was still too young to actually understand as to what those men had wanted to do to them. Although, it was not hard to understand for Marigold if that had actually happened, she was very sure that Boa would have gone on a murderous rampage. Those stupid collars aside, she doubted that they would have stopped Boa at all. ` _Why are we here, Onee-sama? Why can’t we go home?_ ´

Right now though, Marigold and Sandersonia were more relishing in the fact that Boa was trying her best to keep them calm. Yes, the situation seemed bad and hopeless to them. Yet, Boa was trying for them to make this seem as normal as possible and was trying to make it seem like nothing is wrong. She was trying to let it seem that any moment now their crew mates would come and rescue them. That they would come and take them home and for this, they were happy and thankful Boa was with them.

They knew that as long as their older sister was around, everything was going to be alright.

“Don’t worry,” it was barely heard by the two young girls. “We are getting out of this, I make sure of it.”

_**~ Time skip a few hours later, auction house...** _

The three girls were chained down and huddled together in the middle on the stage of the auction house. Sandersonia and Marigold were trying to hide behind Boa who was glaring openly at the leering people in front of them. It was disgusting and it amazed Boa how so many people could sink so low as to go and auction other people off. They were treating her and her sisters as if they were the lowest of trash and did not deserve to live at all. ` _Tch! Disgusting fools! I dare them to try anything with us!_ ´

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” a white haired man at the front of the stage said. “This is our last object for today’s auction! As you can see, we have three lovely girls here. But! These are not just any girls. They are part of the Kuja Pirates and come from no other but Amazon Lily!”

Hushed whispers went around the big and echoing room. Boa was shaking in anger at hearing the man’s words and was glaring with venom filled eyes at the leering and laughing people in front of her. How dare they? Marigold and Sandersonia were staring with wide eyes at the people in front of her, not liking how they were pointing at them and whispering about them. The nobles were leering in excitement at the three girls. Those three girls from Amazon Lily would make a fine addition to any of their households. It was not every day that they got to see women, well girls in this case, from Amazon Lily like this in front of them. It was not only that, they could even buy them! The prize did not matter to them, after all with those three in their household. They could easily gain the money back.

Today must be really their lucky day! Yet, what none of the nobles knew was the fact that in exactly this moment a Tenryuubito had entered the auction house. No one had actually noticed it; they were too busy with whispering to each other about the three girls on the stage and wondering if they would be the lucky ones to get them. They all were in their own worlds.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, young and old, let us start with today’s special!” the man on the stage said in an excited voice. “We begin with 1000000 Beli!”

Before the man could even finish the world beli, the nobles had already begun to scream their biddings. Boa was staring with wide eyes at the greedy monsters in front of her. It was like they had gone through a transformation and had shed their human skin to show their real colours. It was disgusting to watch. It was a great puzzle to her as to how people could turn into such disgusting creatures when they are shown what they have desired for most. Her shock soon enough turned into a hatred and deep loathing as she saw and heard what the males in the crowd of the people had to say about her and her sisters. ` _Disgusting, how dare they do this to us? Don’t they know who we are?_ ´

While the nobles were busy to bide each other out, no one had noticed how a fat man clad in a white dress walked up to the stage. A bubble was around his head and he had a dirty smirk on his lips. Behind him were men dressed in black who seemed to be acting as his bodyguards or some other. The whole yelling for biddings soon came to a stop when the man had reached the stage and was standing upon it.

“50000000000 Beli,” the voice rang throughout the now silence auction hall.

When no answer came for a higher bidding, the man turned annoyed to the pale faced man who was supposed to lead all of this.

“Well? What are you waiting for lowly peasant?” the arrogance in the man’s voice was heavy and laced with annoyance.

“H- Hai,” the man was still shocked that he was this close to a Tenryuubito. “Tenryuubito-sama has bid 50000000000 Beli, anyone other biding more?”

When there was only silence coming from the nobles, he continued on.

“Tenryuubito-sama, I congratulate you to your new slaves,” the man said.

The silence was still in the room. The nobles were in too much of a shock to even think straight now. They didn’t even dare to voice aloud that normally an auction did not go like this where someone just goes to the stage and claims the prize as if they owned it already. There was a reason as to why it was called an auction, was it not? Yet, the nobles knew that it would be a death sentence to dare to voice such out loud while a Tenryuubito was around. They still wanted to live and not be killed by a Tenryuubito because of such a small mistake. They did value their lives, thank you very much. Also, some of them even felt a bit honoured to be in the same room as this man.

It was not every day that one of the Tenryuubito came from Mariejois just to bide. They only came when something really good was about to be bidden.

“Get me the branding iron!”

Boa was staring in silent hatred at the man that had paid for her and her sisters. She didn’t like this man at all and his appearance told her that he was someone high, even though the way he dressed told her otherwise. It was just downright disgusting to be near the man who leered at her in fascination, like she was some kind of exotic toy. Well, maybe she and her sisters were some kind of toy for him. With the way she had just seen those monster bide for her and her sisters, it would not surprise her.

“Onee-sama,” Marigold whispered, too afraid to be any louder.

“Don’t worry, Marigold,” she whispered even quieter back. “We will get out of this.”

“Here is your branding iron,” Boa could only watch as the man’s face suddenly twisted to one of childish glee. “Shall we assist with the branding?”

That was bad news and the pain from being branded on her back would last for days to come. This was the first time Boa had seen males act in such a gruesome and disgusting way. It was also one of the few things that would make Boa hate the male population and nothing was going to stop this.

_**~ Time skip a few weeks later, Holy Land of Mariejois...** _

Boa was writhing on the ground while Marigold and Sandersonia could only stare on helplessly as to how their older sister was tortured in front of them. Boa, being stubborn as she was, had tried to attack the one Tenryuubito who had dared it to try and order her around. That was going to be a mistake she would soon come to be regretting. Boa had not even been able to take three steps before she had found herself writhing on the floor because of the electric shocks that went through her body thanks to that damn collar around her neck. The Tenryuubito was staring with such a gleeful and joyful face at the writhing girl in front of him, it made the younger girls sick.

How could a human sink to such a low level to find amusement in the torment and suffering of others? Tears were running down Marigold’s cheeks and she could only stare at her sister who was in pain. Sandersonia on the other hand was glaring with open hatred at the giggling Tenryuubito who drew too much enjoyment out of this for her taste. ` _T- Those monsters!_ ´ her head whipped around to Boa again when she heard her scream out in a high pitch tone that was telling them of her pain. ` _How could this happen to us? Why us? Did we do something wrong?_ ´

“Maybe next time you will learn your place, peon!”

“G- Go t- to hell!”

“ONEE-SAMA!” Marigold and Sandersonia were shocked that Boa was still holding out like this, even when she was under such an immense pain. “Please, just stop it!”

Boa would not give in, she would not let this monster be satisfied in seeing her break and give into the pain. She had too much pride for this happen. She was part of the Kuja Pirates and a high respected warrior back home, even if she was very young. She wouldn’t give in to this lowly creature that dared to call itself some kind of higher being that can enslave people to their every whim. ` _You will regret this, disgusting fool! I **will** get my revenge on you for doing this to us, just you wait!_ ´

“Look at your sisters, they have already given in, peon,” the arrogance in the man’s voice let Boa want to throw up in disgust. “They seem to have the brains to know to not go against me, trash. Why don’t you do the same? It would make things so much easier for you; also it would get rid of my fun.”

“Onee-sama...” Sandersonia flinched when she heard the man laugh; the sound of it was making her shiver in disgust.

“Please... stop it!” Marigold’s tears just wouldn’t stop. “Onee-sama, please!”

“NEVER! I’D RATHER DIE!”

The face of the Tenryuubito had suddenly morphed into something unholy. It scared Marigold and Sandersonia to no end. Somehow, they were getting the feeling that the next hours to come were going to be hell. They didn’t know if it was for them or their older sister. They were sure of one thing; they all would be suffering from it. It did not matter if it was Boa being tortured or they were, they all suffered from it together.

The worse was for them to be forced to watch how their sister was suffering. This man was disgusting them.

_**~ Time skip a few months later...** _

Boa, surprisingly enough, had made it out alive after she had rebelled all those months ago. She had actually thought that she was a goner after she had seen the face of the one she was supposed to call master which she never did anyways. Currently, Boa was locked away in her so called room. Marigold and Sandersonia were fast asleep behind her. She was nibbling at the tip of her thumb while being in deep thought. It had been a few months since she had been captured and bought by this freak of nature who thought of himself as a god. ` _Tch, yea right... If something like this is a god, then I am a freaking a mermaid with faerie wings!_ ´

Sighing, Boa tried to think of ways to escape this prison but came up with nothing. As far as she knew it was impossible for them to do so now. The collars were too much of a threat and a hindrance for them to even think of climbing out of the window. Those freaks would just need to press one button to make sure they would not be able to move or die if they felt like it. It was something that Boa did not want to push her luck with.

“Damn it, this situation is hopeless!” she cursed silently to herself, mindful of her sleeping sisters. “What am I supposed to do?”

As much as Boa hated to admit it to the current time, it was totally hopeless for her and her younger sister to escape. If only that stupid collar was not around her neck, or her sisters for that matter, then she would have left a long time ago already. Of course, she would have paid those freaks of nature back for what they had done to her and her sisters. But alas, it was the opposite. ` _There has to be a way for us to escape. Those collars must have a weakness in them! It cannot be possible for them to have those stupid things work without some catch there. Everything has a weakness Elder Nyan had said, one must just look for it. But where is it from the collars? Where...?_ ´

While Boa was so deep in her thoughts, she had yet to notice that Marigold and Sandersonia had woken up and were staring at her with sad eyes. Both girls knew what their older sister must be thinking about right now. It was not really that hard to guess after all. They were thinking constantly about it all the time, too. It was hard not to think about it. But they were reminding of their hopeless situation day in and day out by those so called Tenryuubito that saw themselves as gods of all things human. It was for them a load of bullshit.

“Onee-sama...”

“Marigold, don’t,” Sandersonia’s eyes were locked upon Boa’s shaking form. “Onee-sama will come to us when she needs us.”

“B- But look at her,” she shot a worry filled glance at the shaking from of Boa before turning her eyes back to Sandersonia. “She suffers more than we do.”

“Tch, I know, Marigold!” Sandersonia tried not to snap at her younger sister but it was hard. It was not Marigold’s fault that they were in this situation, so she shouldn’t snap at her. “But Onee-sama is Onee-sama, just believe in her. I know it is hard to do so... But Onee-sama is trying her best for us.”

Marigold gave another worry filled glance at Boa before speaking up again, “But I don’t like seeing her like this... It is just wrong!”

“I know, Marigold, I know.”

Boa, still too deep in her thoughts, hadn’t heard Sandersonia or Marigold’s little conversation. Anger and sorrow were raking through her body. She was trembling so hard, Boa was sure it must have started an earthquake somewhere. She wrapped her arms around herself while leaning over. Her hair, which usually was in pig tails, was falling free over her face. It was like a curtain of black water and cascaded smoothly along. Not that she was noticing any of that. Her fingers were gripping tightly on her arms and she was biting her bottom lip so hard, it started to bleed. Ignoring the coppery taste in her mouth, Boa was trying to not think about the torture to come the next day.

Boa knew that she was many things but naivety was not one of them. She was not trying to tell herself some lies to feel better. She faced the cold and hard truth of reality each passing day. It left a bitter taste in her mouth every time she saw the reality of her situation. ` _Cruse them, curse them all! Especially those freaks that captured us, how can they do that to human beings or any other beings for that matter?_ ´ Boa could feel some tears running down her cheeks and dripping onto her exposed legs, not that she was noticing any of that. Her mind was too deep in those dark thoughts. A very quiet sob left her lips; it was swallowed up by the silence in the room.

“I hate them,” such strong words spoken with so much venom in them.

“Onee-sama,” Marigold and Sandersonia closed their eyes and turned their heads away from Boa.

It was hard for the two of them to see Boa crying silently all alone by herself while they could not do a thing to help her. It made them feel even more hopeless than they did now. As much as they wanted to help Boa right now, they knew that Boa would come to them when she needed them. They knew that Boa sometimes needed her alone time but Boa also knew when she could count on them, too. So, they tried to not worry so much but it was hard for them. Especially when you see your beloved older sister in such delicate way and at her weakest time, it just screamed at them to try and help her.


	5. Book 1 - Chapter 4 Akuma no Mi and Plans

 

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 1** _

_**Chapter 4** _   
_**Akuma no Mi and Plans** _

 

_**~ Time skip a few months later, Holy Land of Mariejois...** _

It had been now six months since the three sisters had been abducted from their ship and brought to the Sabaody Archipelago. It had been six months since they had been bought and brought to Mariejois by the Tenryuubito. It had been six months full of torture and humiliation for them. The three of them had yet to yield and bend to those freaks’ wills. Of course, not that this was ever going to happen to them, they had still their pride as warriors left. It was this pride that did not let them just yield like this and the harsh training they had went through with their tribe. Well, and those fights they had put the three girls in. The Tenryuubito that had bought them was a sick man. He had put the three girls into fights against opponents that were three times their size and more powerful than them. The three sisters had not given up when faced with those foes, they knew it would be their death should they refuse to fight them.

They could not give up so easily. They had seen what happened to those who had lost their fights. Their fate was even worse than death. It had pained Boa, Marigold and Sandersonia to see their fellow slaves being tortured like this. If they had thought being forced to call those people their master and being punished when not was bad. Then, what happened after those fights must be hell. They could not understand how anyone could protect such monsters. The world was cruel place like that and those monsters were protected by the Marines, even when they did those inhuman doings. Such was the cruelty of the world and everyone living in it was too blind to see it.

Currently Boa, Sandersonia and Marigold were seated at a table. In front of the three sisters were three strangely coloured and shaped fruits. They seemed to be sitting innocently in front of them. Yet, the three sisters knew better. Those were not just any fruits but Akuma no Mi. It did not really surprise them that this monster had somehow gotten his hands on them. Although, it was a bit surprising that he had three instead of one. It was just showing them how much money that monster must have if he could get not only one but three of those supposed mythical fruits. Well, now they were not a myth to the three anymore, were they?

“Onee-sama,” Sandersonia glanced at Boa who looked with an emotionless face at the fruit in front of her. “I don’t want to eat it.”

“Silence, peon! You will be eating this fruit, along with your sisters!” the angry voice of the Tenryuubito was not something pleasant to hear.

“I won’t!”

“You can’t make us,” Marigold sneered, glaring with distaste at the fruit.

“Do you want to be punished?”

It was no empty threat to the sisters. They knew that this man would go through with it and make sure that this time around a scar would be left on their skin. Well, more than a scar, one must admit. The man would make sure that there would be more than enough to make sure that the three would learn their lesson and do not forget about it. As if it wasn’t bad enough already for them to be reminded every day that they were just some slaves, slaves that could be easily replaced.

“Marigold, Sandersonia,” Boa suddenly spoke up, her voice calm and even. “Eat them.”

“B- But..!”

“No buts, Sandersonia! Please do it,” Boa looked at them in such a calm way; the two younger girls were wondering if she had anything planned. “Trust me on this, please?”

“At least one of you has a brain!” the man crooned in his sickened voice. “You should listen to your sisters, trash!”

“Tch!”

Sandersonia and Marigold glared at the man in front of them. How dare he call them stupid? Did that man really think that they would be this stupid to eat a devil fruit? Not only that, it was to them completely unknown which kind of devil fruit it was they were supposed to eat, too. Although, Boa did ask of them to eat them without complain. That did not mean that they were a bit frightened as to what would happen to them afterwards. Of course, they knew what would happen to them should they refuse to eat them. They would either be forced to eat them or they would be punished in a way that they had yet to be introduced to. Not that either of those choices sounded appealing to them. But so far, the lesser evil of the two was to just eat their fruits and let happen whatever is supposed to happen.

It really did sound safer if they would just do what Boa was asking of them.

“Do it for me,” Boa whispered to them, while she had already her fruit near her mouth.

“Onee-sama, don’t!”

“Trust me on this,” Boa said before she took a bite from her fruit.

Marigold and Sandersonia could only stare with something akin to horror when Boa began to eat her fruit. Their faces began to take on an ashen grey hue when Boa seemed to be chocking. Now, that was worrying them but nevertheless, Boa kept eating the fruit. Also, they could clearly see how disgusting the thing must taste; Boa still ate the whole fruit before letting out a cough. Marigold and Sandersonia swallowed when they heard Boa pant and curse about disgusting tasting fruits.

“O- Onee-sama, are you alright?” Marigold asked, clearly in worry for her sister’s health.

“I doubt she is... her face looks green,” Sandersonia commented, flinching a little when Boa glared at her.

“Ah, I- I am fine... The fruit just tasted even weirder than I imagined,” Boa tried to sound nonchalant but there was a grimace on her face which ruined it all. “It wasn’t that bad. Why don’t you eat yours?”

Giving their sister a look that clearly said that they did not believe her, Marigold and Sandersonia let the matter drop. They doubted that Boa wanted to keep talking about this with such a grimace on her face. Also, it looked kind of painful, now that they thought about it. Ah, but maybe, that was just their imagination.

“If you say so,” Marigold said while eyeing her fruit, not really knowing if she should really eat it.

Sighing, Sandersonia picked her fruit up, eyeing it, “Well, here goes nothing...”

Boa, having experienced it herself what the fruit tasted like, was staring with a blank face at her green faced sisters. Whoever had invented those fruits must have had a sick mind or Mother Nature was a bitch when she came up with them. Nevertheless, Boa was sure it was some kind of sick humour whoever did created those fruits. May they burn in hell for having this kind of humour; Boa was certain she would make sure it would happen. While the two sisters were still managing to eat those horrid tasting fruit with Boa watching them, the Tenryuubito was staring with fascinated amusement on. He was quite sure now that those three slaves of his would now be able to beat anyone that they would have to face.

Of course, he was not about to tell the other Tenryuubito about his slaves eating those fruits. Less, he gave his cousin, aunts, uncles and parents any ideas of doing the same. Then, what would be the fun for him in having their slaves fight each other when all of them had eaten a devil fruit? It would be so much better if only his had eaten them and thus only they would win for him and get him more money. Now, the only question left for him was to get those three slave girls to fight as soon as possible. He needed to find out just what exactly those fruits could do. As brainless as he may seem sometimes, well actually all the time, he did value to have his money placed rightfully on something. This time, it was no difference.

Marigold and Sandersonia, having finally gained normal colour in their faces again, were gulping large amount of water down. The taste was still in their mouths even after drinking each of them a bottle of water. How the hell was Boa able to stand the taste of her fruit without drinking half a lake empty? ` _It just shows that Onee-sama has incredible self control of herself_ ,´ Marigold thought while drinking her second bottle of water. The taste just wouldn’t leave her mouth.

“Yuck! Disgusting, how can anyone eat any of those on their own free will?” Sandersonia complained.

“I’d rather want to know how to get rid of the taste,” Marigold muttered, having giving up on washing it away with water. “The water only seems to make it worse.”

Boa raised an eyebrow at them, “Is that so?”

_**~ Time skip a year late, inside the Colosseum...** _

Boa, who had by now figured out what her devil fruit could do, was staring with barely hidden disgust at the males in front of her. Yet again, she and her sisters had been forced to fight. Of course, over the curse of months to come, she had gotten used to it. It was a routine by now and with the help of her devil fruit, Boa had an even easier time to beat those disgusting creatures that called themselves men. Also, that did not mean that she always used her powers. Only when it came to the species men, then she used it. When she had to fight women, she preferred to use her combat skills, mainly material arts. Men, in her opinion, did not deserve such an honour of having a fair fight with her. But as it was, women were rarely used in the fights. She and her sisters seemed to be the only exceptions to this rule.

Sighing, Boa turned on her heels and left the arena. It was of no use for her to stay near this man. He was of no interest to her. ` _Tch, males, they are all the same!_ ´ Boa looked at her hands when she was out of the arena. She did not really know what to feel after she had figured out that she could use her devil fruit powers even when she punched or kicked out, not only from a distance as she had first assumed. Of course, it was a great advantage for her, too. Now, she only had to figure out how to train them, so she could use them whenever she wanted. ` _Those powers might be able to help us flee from here_ ,´ Boa had finally reached her destination and was looking at her little sisters. ` _Those powers, I could use them as an excuse for our long absence from home. No one back home knows of devil fruits... And with our luck, we got powers that could go very well with the old legend of a Gorgon, the irony in this._ ´

Marigold and Sandersonia, who had fought before Boa, were both nursing their wounds. Their fights had not gone as smoothly as Boa’s. It was to be expected after all. Their devil fruits had allowed the two of them to transform into reptiles. They were not any reptiles though; they belonged more into the category of snakes. It was kind of ironic for the two of them, now that they thought about. Their tribe was known to worship snakes and here they were. They were able to transform into them. Fate had such a messed up humour.

“Onee-sama...?”

“It is nothing, Marigold,” Marigold was still staring at her sister, something was up with Boa. “Yes, I am sure of it, Marigold. Don’t give me that look.”

“Onee-sama is planning something,” the comment was coming from Sandersonia who gave Boa a long and hard stare. “I am getting the feeling that you want to do something crazy, Onee-sama.”

“Oho?” Boa had her hands on her hips. “What if I do?”

“Knowing you, it has to do with your powers,” chirped Marigold, she was smiling knowingly at Boa. “Whatever it is, it won’t work. You have yet to gain full control over them, Onee-sama.”

“Marigold is right,” that was coming from a nodding from Sandersonia. “You still turn us into stone on accident.”

Scowling at their sisters, Boa turned her nose up in air and turned her back to them. As if she had to listen to such nonsense! She had a fine control over powers, thank you very much. Okay, maybe she did turn Marigold and Sandersonia into stone sometimes. Yet, those were purely done as an experiment, really! She just wanted to see if it was working like she had hoped it was. It had nothing to do with the fact that they had taken her by surprise at those times and scared her, really. That wasn’t the case, not at all. It was all done purpose. ` _Okay, maybe not,_ ´ came the sullen thought. ` _But it was not like I hadn’t planned to turn anything into stone in those moments! They were just getting in my way, that’s it!_ ´

Marigold and Sandersonia sweat dropped when they saw the dark clouds hanging over Boa’s head and the sullen aura she gave off. Now, it wasn’t like they were holding it against Boa. It wasn’t like they were fairing any better with their new powers. It was still hard for them to keep up a human shape when something suddenly let out a loud bang or somewhere a door was opened. It was like something inside of them was telling them to turn into their animal form. Maybe it was their newly acquired instincts. They were not really sure about this. Whatever it was, it was annoying and they were sure it would take them a long time until they would be able to control their instincts, soon at that.

A sigh left Sandersonia’s lips and she crossed her arms. She used her forked tongue, which out of habit was hanging out of her mouth, to smell the air around them. It was a quite useful skill for her and it was this way so much easier to see, well smell, if someone was trying to eavesdrop in on them. Very useful skill it was and it did help them to plan some of their escapes and avoid getting into trouble. ` _What is Marigold doing?_ ´ Sandersonia asked herself. She couldn’t have spaced out this long, could she?

“A- Ah Onee-sama! Don’t be so down!” Marigold was trying to cheer Boa up again.

“No, I can’t do anything right,” as if to prove her point, the bench Boa was sitting on turned to stone. “See!”

“On- Onee-sama, that’s not true,” Marigold was really trying. “It’s the bench’s fault!”

“... Onee-sama,” somehow, Sandersonia got the feeling she didn’t want to know what this was about.

“No! I am so useless!”

Yes, she was really sure to not ask about this.

_**~ Time skip two years later, Boa fifteen years old...** _

Three years had come and gone by. It had been three years since that fateful day where Boa, Marigold and Sandersonia had been abducted from the Kuja Pirates’ ship. It had only been two years, roughly at that, when they had been forced to eat their Akuma no Mi by that bastard. In the past year, Boa together with her sisters had been busy in learning to control her powers, so she could use them to her advantage. So far, that training had come along great. Marigold and Sandersonia had managed it to not transform randomly anymore when they did not want it to happen or when somewhere a loud bang was heard, like it had happened before. They had also managed it to have a complain reign over their instincts. It had been a joyful day for them when they managed it.

Boa, on the other hand, was using her powers to their fullest. Not only had she a few good long range attacks. She had also managed it to somehow control her powers in such a way that she could even turn people, or inanimate objects but those only when she touched them, into stone. It was a good combination when she punched or kicked people. It was also deadly to boot when she hit the person right in the head or somewhere other deadly. Yet, that was not only when she punched or kicked them directly in the head. Not only did a good area turn into stone but it also broke off. It was a sentence to death, then.

So yes, those two years had been useful to them if they ignored the slave issue, that is.

“Marigold, Sandersonia,” there was a slight pause. “You know what is supposed to happen in a week, right?”

Both girls looked at Boa before nodding. Of course, they knew what was supposed to happen. How could they now? The idiot of a Tenryuubito they had to serve, and the term is used loosely here, was always reminding them of it. So yes, it was hard to forget about it.

“Of course, Onee-sama, but what has that have to do with anything?” Marigold asked, confusion was clearly seen on her face.

“It might help us to escape this hell hole,” Boa had a determined glint in her eyes while she said it. “That is, if we play our cards right.”

“But how would it help us, Onee-sama?” Sandersonia frowned, clearly not seeing any connection to the upcoming event. “It does not make any sense to me.”

Boa sighed at that. Of course, her two sisters would not see the connection. She had heard rumours going around lately in the ranks of the slaves. They varied from each person but basically they all held the same statement in them. The rumour clearly stated that in a week someone would come and free them. Those rumours had started coming from the fishmen and mermaids. They claimed that the fish in sea, when they had been allowed in the sea, had told them that someone named Fisher Tiger was plotting for them all to escape.

Now, don’t misunderstand Boa. Boa was not normally someone to just believe in such petty rumours as this. Yet, the way she had seen those fishmen and mermaids had looked like when they told them the news. They looked not only convinced that this Fisher Tiger would come to rescue them but the way their eyes had light up and the way they had spoken about this. Now this, this was what had let Boa believe those supposed rumours. Whatever it was that had the fishmen and mermaids believe this strongly, it must hold some truth to it, then. ` _Now, the question is when exactly this Fisher Tiger will appear on this idiot’s grand party,_ ´ Boa mused to herself while her sisters were still looking disbelieving at her.

While Boa was busy with her own thoughts on the escaping matter, Sandersonia and Marigold were pretty much sure that Boa had lost it. They knew that in a week that idiot was supposed to celebrate something big. If they remembered right it was because he had gotten engaged or some other nonsense. They didn’t really care about it nor did they have wanted to remember it, either. It was simply disgusting to think about that something like the freak of fatness was engaged. They pitied the woman that was promised to him. On second thought, they didn’t. If she was anything like him, then they were a perfect match for each other. ` _Ha, as if the world needs more of those good for nothing fat asses. It surprises me they are not neutered at birth or hunted down like some animals,_ ´ Sandersonia’s hatred for them was clearly shown in her thoughts.

Sandersonia was surprised that no one had actually started a rebellion against those Tenryuubito. Why were those supposed commoner people not going against them? They were clearly in favour when it came to numbers. Yes, the Marines are protecting those freaks of nature. Surely though, if pirates and civilian people alike came together, then they would be able to overthrow them. ` _But then again, it could be harder than it looks like,_ ´ Sandersonia thought with a frown. ` _It may sound easy and is easy to say but going through with it is another matter. I bet most of them are just too scared, which I can’t blame them for._ ´

Marigold sighed while looking at her two older sisters. ` _Why am I getting the feeling I am missing something out here?_ ´ she really did feel as if those two were keeping things from her. Yes, she knew that she was the youngest of them but that did not mean that Boa and Sandersonia could just withhold important information from her. She had a right to know, too! She was in this stupid situation, too! So, why was it that both her sisters kept most things from her? She did not need to be protected; she was old enough to know those things. ` _But then again, if they did tell me anything. I would probably get worried about them,_ ´ Marigold sighed at that. As sad as it was, that thought did carry truth in it. She really would get worried if the two would suddenly tell her everything.

It was just that strange with them. Either they kept secrets from each other or not, they still cared in their very own way for each other. Maybe this was why most of the Kuja thought of them as weird or thought that they had a weird way of showing that they cared for each other. Well, as long as they knew that they do care for each other. Who were they to dictate others as to what they are supposed to think of them? It was not any of their business and it would never be. But, back to the current topic at hand which was still a bit confusing to Marigold. `Just what are they thinking about? What has that do with that engagement party?´

“Onee-sama, just what is it that helps us escape?” but there was no answer coming from Boa. “Onee-sama?”

Marigold blinked when there was still no answer coming from Boa. By the holy snakes! Just what exactly was so important that Boa was so deep in her thoughts? Glancing at Sandersonia, Marigold knew that she was not any better. Now, that was just downright insulting. Pouting, Marigold walked over to her sisters and began to poke them. ` _Seriously, I could draw on them and they wouldn’t notice a thing!_ ´ Maybe this might not such a bad idea? That would teach them to ignore her like this.

“Onee-sama,” a whine left her lips. “Come on, what is it that is supposed to help us?”

“Huh?” Boa blinked when she saw Marigold suddenly in front of her. When did she get there? “Is something the matter?”

Marigold could feel how her eye began to twitch. Boa couldn’t be serious now, could she? It was not like she had tried to be silent when she walked in front of Boa. Then again, she did think hard just a few seconds ago. Still, it was no excuse to be like this, now was it? ` _I should just give up,_ ´ Marigold sighed and shook her head. It was sometimes really hard to be around Boa, it seriously was.

“Ah, Marigold, your left eye is twitching, I doubt that this is healthy,” commented Sandersonia from her left. “Oh! It is twitching faster! You should really get that checked.”

“I agree with Sandersonia, you should really get this checked,” Boa said offhandedly while eyeing the twitching eye. “But putting that aside. About next week...”

“Finally,” muttered Marigold while holding her temper in check. She could always get her revenge later on them. “What is it about next week? What has that to do with us escaping? As far as I know the security is even higher up, then!”

“Ah, that is exactly what I want to talk with you two about,” Boa’s smile was a bit frightening when Marigold and Sandersonia got to see it. “I am sure that you have heard of the latest rumours, right?”

Frowning, both nodded but they did not really see a connection between the rumours and their escape. What was so interesting in those rumours anyways that let Boa think they could escape?

“Yes, but I still do not get it,” Sandersonia was honestly confused. “Where is the connection there? Just because those fishmen and mermaids claim that someone will come to rescue all slaves, it doesn’t mean that someone will really come. But the look you are giving me is saying that I am missing something out, am I right?”

“Quite, yes,” Boa crossed her arms and nodded. “I am not someone to believe in those rumours either. But something is telling me that they tell us the truth and my instincts tell me so, too. And they have yet to lead me astray. So, I shall trust them on this.”

“Okay, if, and I really mean **if** , those rumours are true,” Marigold spoke up, drawing her sisters’ attention on herself. “How could we possible work this to our advantage? I get it would make it easier for us to escape because security will mostly concentrate over the fat pigs, which call themselves humans. That should make it easier to get on land here, too. But what happens afterwards?”

The smile on Boa’s face got even more frightening, maybe they should make a run for it? It certainly was getting a more insane touch to it. Or they were just imagining things, hopefully.

“Ah, that is the beauty of it all. While those guards are busy with those pigs disguised as humans, we will take this as our chance to help this Fisher Tiger everyone speaks about. I doubt that anyone will put guards on us, they do believe that the collar will work as a submission instrument.”

“Ha! As if,” Sandersonia snorted. “I still can’t believe it took us three years, **three** _freaking_ years, to figure out that our Haki allows us to destroy those things!”

“Oh! I get it what you mean!” Marigold had suddenly the same insane smile on her face. “While we make sure our collars are out of business, we can help cause some mayhem and chaos. It would make things so much easier to escape.”

“Exactly,” Boa gave Marigold a proud smile. “But we still need to work out some fine points in this plan. I have just recently thought of it. We still need to discus some more about it, though.”

Sandersonia frowned before speaking up, “But wouldn’t it help us if we got the other slaves to helps us? At least the ones that work with us under Piggy Mc Pig-Pig?”

“Yea, and if we are lucky,” the giddiness in Marigold’s voice was clearly heard and it seemed it was hard for the girl to keep it to herself, “the other slaves can spread the word! I bet they still do fights, right? We could tell the other fighters about this.”

“Right, right, and while the other slaves mingle with each other,” now it was Sandersonia’s turn and one could clearly see the happiness of possible freedom in her eyes, “they will be spreading the word, too. Heck, we might be able to meet up with them. As you said, the security will mostly focus on those pigs. It is perfect!”

“Yes, that is,” Boa couldn’t help but be proud of her sisters. They had been able to catch so fast on what she was getting at. “But that still does not solve the problem if they will help us. I bet some won’t try, they might be too afraid of punishment if we fail.”

Well, that did dampen their mood a little bit. The fear of getting caught was strong in them. Yet, there might also be a possibility where someone could rat them out. On second thought, it was actually impossible for that to happen. They all hated the Tenryuubito too much for that ever to happen. Yes, some had certain habits drilled into them but deep down, they did loath those monsters. Their chances were high that this was all kept a secret.

“Well, we just have to make them believe this works out, won’t we?” a sly smile made its way onto Boa’s face.

“Oh...!”

Sometimes, Boa’s cunningness was frightening. But this time it was for a good cause. Hopefully, whatever Boa had thought up would change the minds of those that would keep out will rather change into joining them.

_**~ Time skip a few days later, night time...** _

It was night time and no sound was heard. Well, that was not exactly true. After all, in some little house far away from the main buildings where the Tenryuubito lived in some noises were coming from. The slaves from all of Mariejois had come together in the house and were openly discussing the rumours that had gone around and the plan that Boa had come up with. Of course, many of them had played with the thought of helping this Fisher Tiger that was supposed to come in a few days. There were still some of them that were against helping or trying to escape, though. What if those rumours were not true at all and just from someone that wanted to prank them? If they were caught by the Tenryuubito they would be severely punished. If they had luck they would be outright killed instead of kept alive and tortured to the brink of insanity, like it had happened every so often.

This was something that most of them would take in a stride but were they truly read for it? At least they had tried to flee and not sat around like some puppies waiting to be feed by its master. They refused to step any lower! It was already bad enough that they all had been marked and forced to submit. This was where they all drew the line, no more!

“So, I take that you all agree with this plan?”

Boa was standing in the middle of the room. She had been listening to all the incoming opinions with a calm mind. It would do her no good to lose her temper on them; it wouldn’t help in this matter. This much, Boa knew.

“Yes! If it means freedom for us,” a woman with dark green hair said while having some pearls in her hair.

` _Ah, she was a mermaid. She must have split her tail recently,_ ´ Boa noted to herself, having seen the same woman with a fish tail beforehand. Marigold and Sandersonia had kept themselves in the background. They were more of a lookout should anyone come that might be in search of them.

“Aye, the lass speaks true,” an old man spoke up. He looked ready to fall over any minute. “We have had enough of this. It is time that we get our freedom back!”

“AYE!” now that was spoken in a chorus.

Boa winced a little at how loud it was sounding. Hopefully, none had heard the loud noises. She glanced at Marigold and Sandersonia, asking with her eyes if anyone was coming. When the two shook their heads in negative, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“As happy as you guys are, we have to be silent here,” Boa said seriously while giving them all a glare. “It would do us no good if they found out about us planning. Then it would all be over before it even started.”

A few sheepish looks was all what she got as responds.

“Now on to other matters,” Boa looked through the rows of people in front of her. “How many of you have eaten an Akuma no Mi?”


	6. Book 1 - Chapter 5 Escaping from Mariejois

 

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 1** _

_** Chapter 5 ** _   
_** Escaping from Mariejois ** _

 

**_ ~ Time skip two days before the big escape party... _ **

Mariejios had become quite busy in the last few days. The slaves were put to work nonstop to get everything ready for the big engagement party. It was a bit surprising as to how the slaves had yet to complain about the whole work they were put through. They seemed a bit eager for the great party to come which was very confusing. Yet, no one questioned it as to why the slaves were so eager to work. It was not like they would gain anything out from this. So, why were they happy? Well, the Tenryuubito did not really care about how their slaves felt about the party. The only thing that they cared about was that everything was supposed to be ready for that big day. As long as everything was finished and set up, why would they care? It all had worked for them, then.

While the idiots of nature were busy with themselves and their grand party. The slaves were busier than usual with other matters, like making sure that they put some extra decoration up. Of course, they did make sure that no one saw them doing this. Least, they would be found out and people take it away. After all, each party does need some things to spike it up, doesn’t it?

Currently, all the slaves had come together in a big ballroom, well one of them. Of course, their supposed masters believed they were working on the decoration and setting everything up for the big party. Well, they did do that and so much more, that is.

“Sandersonia, Marigold!” Boa looked at her sisters who were busy setting some fireworks up in the ceiling, their devil fruit powers certainly helped to reach the height up there. “I know that you guys want to blow this place up! But please, leave a few of our special fireworks for the mansions of those bastards!”

Pouting, Sandersonia transformed back before falling down and landing on her feet, “Ruin our fun, why don’t you, Onee-sama?”

Shaking her head, Boa walked over to the old man that looked near death. It did not surprise Boa at all. After all, the man had grown up in slavery and it was hard to believe he was just in his thirties! He looked more to be in his sixties. It just showed through what hell one went when they were forced to be slaves for those noble bastards.

“Ah, Boa-san,” the man greeted her. “I take it you are pleased with everything so far?”

Sparing a quick glance at the man, Boa nodded before she picked up a harmless looking flower bouquet, “Yes, it surprises me a little, old man. I had thought we would be having more problems.”

Laughing, the man shook his head, “Eh, just shows us as to how much we loath the Tenryuubito. We all want to be free of them and if that is our chance, then we take it. We grab it tightly with both our hands and never let go of it!”

“Certainly,” a frown marred her features. “We still need to set a time as to when we want them to detonate.”

The man caught the glance Boa gave the ceiling and the few bouquets of flowers that went around the whole room. It certainly was a big question that needed to be cleared up. In all their plotting as how to manipulate the party the best; they had yet to set a time when everything was supposed to start. Of course, it could not start too early. It would back fire and they had no chance of escaping. They could not start too late either, they had no clue when this Fisher Tiger would be there. So they had to think of a perfect time themselves.

“Aye, lass, that we do,” murmured the old man.

Boa stiffened suddenly up when she felt someone lurking outside the ballroom. Something was telling her that someone was trying to eavesdrop, but who could it possibly be? The better question was who would be interested to eavesdrop into slaves? Marigold and Sandersonia had both tensed up and were giving the others looks that told them to keep silent. There was someone out there that they could not place from the smell. He, they were very sure that it was a male, smelled not like he was part of Mariejois. They did not want to take any risks with this, there was too much at stake for them.

“Sandersonia,” Boa hissed out, making sure to not be too loud.

“Hai, Onee-sama.”

The other slaves looked on. They had learned very soon and fast that they could trust the three Kuja-Sisters when it came to a matter like this. It was truly fascinating to watch how the three sisters were working together; it was like they were one person. They did not speak up, and even if they did it was just one word with each other, and acted accordingly as to what was asked of them from the others. Truly, they could not only do this on instincts alone, could they?

“Onee-sama, whoever this is,” Sandersonia was glancing at the entrance of the ballroom as if she waited for whoever it was to suddenly enter. “They are not from Mariejois. I doubt that they even know what is supposed to happen in a few days.”

A sharp glance was taking it all from Boa to urge Sandersonia to explain as to why she thought so.

“Well, I cannot smell them anymore near this room,” as if to prove her point, Sandersonia moved her tongue a bit. “In fact, I cannot detect the smell anywhere.”

Boa frowned at hearing those words while the slaves began to worry. What if this person, whoever he or she is, was spying on them on the behalf of the Tenryuubito? Had someone managed to find out what they had planned? But if that was the case, then, why were they still allowed to walk freely around and continue to work on this thrice damned party? Surely, they would have put a stop to that and made sure that they were severely punished. Or it was someone other but whom?

“Keep working,” Boa instructed, giving them all a look. “As long as this person has not ratted us out, they are on our side. And as such, we shall continue with our work, understood?”

_**~ Time skip a day until the possibility of freedom...** _

A lot can happen in a day’s time. This provided to be true the very next morning. While Boa had been busy with setting the exact time as to when their special fireworks were to set off, Marigold and Sandersonia had managed to change the menu plan. The menu plan was now mostly made out of foods that had alcohol in them, lots and lots of alcohol. They did want to make sure that no one would notice anything going on. If alcohol was the way to go for this, then those bastards wouldn’t know what had hit them until all was done and over with. Well, it certainly helped them that it was yet again slaves that were supposed to help in the kitchen, too. It was fairly easy to change the whole menu for the party, then.

Boa had also noticed that since yesterday that strange person appeared more and more around Mariejois. It was at the oddest of times that he or she appeared, yet it was only when the slaves were alone. It made Boa suspicious as to who it could be. It couldn’t be any of the Tenryuubito because the only time that they were around slaves was to cause them humiliation or torture them. It couldn’t be any of the guards either because they actually were close to the slaves; they did not try to avoid them. Of course, if they did, it would make their job to make sure that they did not flee harder.

“Onee-sama, everything is ready,” Marigold said who had been in a brief meeting with the kitchen staff. “If everything goes according to plan, then the idiots are drunk not even two hours into the party.”

Boa smiled at hearing those good news, “Heh, we have to applaud the kitchen staff, really. They really do seem to know those idiots better than any other here. If what they say does hold some truth to it.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it, Boa-san,” a lilac haired woman said. “Those wanna-be gods are not only greedy when it comes to gold and slaves but when it comes to food. Well, you have to see that one for yourself.”

Boa blinked at the woman and raised a brow at hearing those cryptic words. Somehow though, it was to be expected for those bastards of nature to be that greedy when it came to food. If one thought the Tenryuubito were bad when it was about slaves, then their love for money put that to shame. Yet, if you mention free food around them, well, do pray that they do not eat you out of house and out any of your other possessions. `It is no wonder that most of them are as big as a baby whale!´ Boa thought with distaste. ` _On second thought, I think I just insulted the poor baby whale... But what are they, then?_ ´

Now, that was a very good question which was of no importance right now. What was more important was the fact that tomorrow they would be able to be free again.

“Lass, you should relax more,” came the dry voice from Boa’s left. “Everything will be alright for tomorrow. I doubt that whoever it is that has tried to spy on us, will try to stop us now.”

“Hm, I believe this when I see it,” with a turn on her heels, Boa walked off.

Those words might hold some truth to them. Yet, Boa wanted to check the time schedule again, one never knows if something could be going wrong or not. She wanted to be on the safe side when it came down to their possible freedom. ` _Better safe than sorry, as they say..._ ´

“Ah, the lass is worrying too much.”

“Wouldn’t you too?” shot the woman back. “The girl is one that needs to be free the most! Her being a slave does not suit her. She is too strong headed for this.”

“Whom does it suit, then?” the old man shot back at the scowling woman.

“Those incest bastards,” she snarled out, venom dripping from every word. “I bet they won’t even survive an hour into being a slave!”

Marigold blinked at the two in front of her. ` _I think, I am going to miss those two..._ ´

_**~ Time skip, the day of the big party...** _

It was early in the morning in Mariejois. The sun had yet to rise but the land was already buzzing with life. Well, it was more like the slaves were up already and going about while the lazy Tenryuubito were still fast asleep. It would seem that it would even take a few more hours until they are up and about. Not that any of the slaves cared about this, they were much too happy about today. They just had to wait a few more hours and then it was over with living in this dreaded hell hole. Boa, Sandersonia and Marigold were the few of the slaves that had been up before the other slaves. They just couldn’t sleep when they knew what was about to happen today. So, because of that they had went around, well more like sneaked around, to cause already a little havoc.

Hey, there was nothing against some good chaos before the main event. While the three girls were busy with manipulating the morning from the Tenryuubito, the other slaves that had been up and about were trying to wake the other slaves up. They did not want to risk anything yet and just wanted for night time to come. It was already nerve wrecking for them to only know that it would be a few hours until the party started. The wait was nearly making it impossible for them to be calm about the whole matter; one might say that it was killing them.

Today would be going down into the history of Mariejois. For some it might be good and for others it would be a complete disaster.

_**~ Meanwhile with the three sisters...** _

Marigold and Sandersonia were striding through the mansion and looking at each window and door that was leading out of Mariejois. Well, to be more precise, they were making sure that they had unlocked each window and door that was facing the sea side. The task was made harder for them because of some patrols going around and making their rounds. They made sure that this would not deter them from accomplishing that task. They could not fail at this, whatever may happen. This was one of the few things that they could only do today. If they had done it earlier, then the idiots would have found it suspicious and would have sent some of their lapdogs out. Not that any of them believed that they had the brains for it, but better be safe than sorry.

While Marigold and Sandersonia were busy with the windows and the doors, Boa was following some strange clues. As she had entered the first hallway of the mansion, Boa had been sure that she had seen something, or maybe even someone, lurking in the shadows. It was like this figure had been waiting for them but then, as soon as Boa had tried to get a better look. It had vanished; it was like it had not been there to begin with. This was strange, very strange. Narrowing her eyes, Boa had told her sisters to go on. ` _Now, who could this be out there? Whoever it is, they are not part of the guards. They are way too clumsy and, not to mention, too loud when it comes to the fine art of stealth,_ ´ musing to herself, Boa had already walked deeper into the mansion.

This shadow did not seem to know its way around the mansion. Because if they did, Boa doubted they would have tried to go further into the mansion. There was one simple reason as to why, too. It was because the deeper you got into the mansion, the thicker became the walls and the darker the hallways and corridors got. That was because of a few reasons. In the very heart of the mansion were the chambers were the slaves were supposed to be taught the rules of the mansion, more like tortured if you asked Boa and her sisters or any other slave for that matter. They had seen the chambers lying there themselves often enough to know them by heart. So, whoever this mysterious person was, they must be someone not from Mariejois.

Boa was sure of it, very much so in fact. Because no slave would go on their own into heart of the mansion, they had too many bad memories of the place. While the Tenryuubito always made it look like some big festival when they went down there, maybe it was to boast their ego or they just wanted to let their families know that they could keep their slaves better in line than any other of them. Whatever the reason may be, it did not change that those people were not human and lacked any kinds of feelings. The guards mostly avoided the place, so it had to mean that the shadowy figure was an outsider to Mariejois. But the question was now, who this person was.

` _Whoever this is... They must not really know anything about Mariejois,_ ´ Boa mused to herself while she had now reached the chambers that laid in the middle of the mansion. She narrowed her eyes at finding the person who turned out to be a fishman standing in the middle of the room.

“Who are you?” Boa said in a strong voice, she was suspicious of this fishman. She had never seen him before on Mariejois. “The better question is... What are you doing here and how did you manage to enter Mariejois?”

The fishman just looked at Boa who glared at him when he did not answer her. What was wrong with that overgrown fish?

“Well?” she impatiently tapped her foot on the floor and crossed her arms. “I could always alert the guards about an intruder being here.”

Of course, Boa wasn’t about to do that. But this fishman did not need to know this, now did he? She just wanted to know how he managed to sneak into Mariejois. It couldn’t be that those idiots forgot to tighten their security for today, could it? ` _But then again, whoever said that they possessed a brain to begin with? It wouldn’t surprise me if they hadn’t gotten a brain when it was time to receive them,_ ´ Boa thought dryly to herself. ` _Although, if the security does lack like this, it will be easier for us all to set our plan into motion and escape from here._ ´

“I doubt that you will, girl,” the fishman spoke, not even once looking at Boa. “I heard your plan with the other slaves. If I were you I would be worried that I would tell those Tenryuubito about your plan.”

Tensing up, Boa stared with narrowed and venom filled eyes at the fishman who had turned around to give her a look. ` _Does this overgrow guppy really think I haven’t notice him walking around Mariejois for the past week? If he had really wanted to tell on us, he would have done so already,_ ´ well, two could play this game.

Raising an eyebrow, Boa stared the fishman straight in his eyes, “So? Why haven’t you told them of it yet? Don’t tell me you are afraid of them? Or are you a slave, too? Are you a new one, perhaps?”

Somehow, Boa felt strangely delighted when she saw the fishman’s expression morph into a blank one after she asked if he was a slave, too. Ah, maybe she had gone a tad too far? Nay, that couldn’t be it. He was practically asking for it! Boa was just oh so happy to deliver him such words. This is very kind of her, no?

The fishman, who was really Fisher Tiger, was actually surprised to see a slave show such guts! The only slaves that he had ever met were very submissive and wouldn’t even dare to think for their own selves. The Tenryuubito had truly managed to break those people’s spirit and will to live. Also, it was kind of refreshing to see that this girl, and the other slaves that he had seen her with, still had their spirit left and were actually fighting for their freedom. Of course, he was a bit surprised when he had heard those slaves wanted to help him with his task. ` _How noble of them,_ ´ Fisher Tiger mused to himself while keeping his temper in check because of the girl in front of him.

He may be admiring the girl’s guts but that certainly did not mean that he would just accept her calling him a slave, too. ` _The little brat certainly knows how to push someone’s buttons, doesn’t she?_ ´ Fisher Tiger thought while eyeing the girl in front of him. Somehow, he was getting the feeling that the girl in front of him knew that he was no slave and was not with the Tenryuubito either.

“You certainly have a sharp tongue you on you, human,” Fisher Tiger said with an amused smirk. “But you and I know as to why I am really here, don’t you? There must have been a reason as to why you have followed me.”

Putting her hands on her hips and raising a brow at the fishman in front of her, Boa gave a jerky nod at that. ` _So my feeling was right, he really is this Fisher Tiger like I thought,_ ´ Boa mused to herself.

“You are certainly not normal, Fisher Tiger,” Boa stated with a calm voice, her face not giving any emotion away. “You are either very brave for coming to Mariejois on your own and try to rescue us slaves or very foolish. I like to think you are the latter. I must admit it, though. What you have planned is very honourable.”

Chuckling, Fishter Tiger took a few steps forward to Boa, “I like to think of the first, though. But we have other matters to discuss if we want this to work, girl.”

“Of course, those bastards have to pay for what they did to us,” Boa’s voice became stone cold and her eyes were as hard as diamonds.

_**~ Time skip, late into the evening...** _

Mariejois was in flames and chaos was raining over the Holy Land. The slaves had managed it to free themselves of those blasted collars that had control them for most of their lives on this hell hole. The Tenryuubito had been hunted down and hoarded together before they had been thrown together in a room. The guards had been killed without any mercy and some even were left to die in the flames that took over mansion for mansion and were slowly over taking the Holy Land. Boa, Sandersonia and Marigold were standing in front of the man that had tormented them for the past three years, nearly four years. They were staring with malice and venom filled eyes at the sniffling and grovelling fool in front of them.

Did that man really think he was going to be spared if he was acting this pathetic in front of them? Sneering at the cowering and pathetic being at her feet, Boa kicked him in the face. Just like that man had countless times done to her and her little sisters when they couldn’t move anymore after those brutal fights.

“Well, well, look whom we have here~!” Sandersonia said with a hissing voice, her pupils had become slits.

Marigold was looking down with a venom filled glare at the whimpering man, “I say we repay him in kind! It is only polite to do so, yes?”

Boa was staring with a blank face at the fool at her feet. Her face wasn’t showing any of the amusement she was currently feeling. She wanted to make this man suffer like he had made them suffer.

“Of course, Marigold,” Boa said with a nasty smirk on her face. “Let’s show him the hospitableness of us Kuja.”

“Hai, Onee-sama!”

Marigold and Sandersonia’s expression was identical to that of Boa’s. Whatever the Tenryuubito had hoped to happen and achieve with his grovelling, it had clearly not worked. Instead, it seemed to have only angered the three girls more. Without waiting for any sign, Boa kicked out at the Tenryuubito and sent him flying, hitting him in his arm which immediately turned into stone. Marigold and Sandersonia whistled when they saw how the arm shattered as soon as it touched the wall where the Tenryuubito had landed in. Cracking her knuckles, Boa advanced onto the whimpering and blithering fool.

“Onee-sama seems to enjoy this,” Marigold commented with a thoughtful expression.

“Heh, that she does,” Sandersonia snickered before she was interrupted by a loud and painful howl. “That must have hurt. I doubt he will have any children... Good riddance, I say!”

Both winced when they heard a loud crack echo around the room. The wall that just a few minutes ago had a Tenryuubito buried into thanks to Boa was, now sporting a giant hole. The other Tenryuubito were looking with wide and fear filled eyes at Boa. Without their weapons, or the collars around their slaves’ throats, they knew that they were useless and could do nothing against this low life. It didn’t help matters that any of their guards had either been locked away, knocked unconscious or plainly killed. It was truly such a tragic thing that had befallen them, even though they had been so generous to their idiotic slaves. Those scum bags should be down on all fours and begging them for forgiveness! If it were not for them, they would be long dead. Yet, none of this would have happened, were it not for those Tenryuubito enslaving them in the first place.

Boa, somehow having a feeling as to what those freaks were thinking, was glaring daggers at them which were laced with poison. Marigold and Sandersonia, who had up to now stand in the background, were glaring at those scum bags. It was time that they could take their turns on those freaks of nature, too.

“We should show them our thanks, too,” Sandersonia had transformed into her giant anaconda form and was leering down on the shaking forms of those wanna-be gods.

“I’d say!” Marigold was glaring death at the whimpering humans, her giant salamander form was making her glare seem even deadlier.

It was time that those idiots learned just as to why the Kuja had such a fearsome reputation out in the sea.

_**~ Time skip, a few hours later in front of the burning mansions...** _

Mariejois was still burning and with the night sky in the background, it looked ominous. Most of the mansions had all been nearly burned down, save for a few. Fisher Tiger was standing in front of his work with all of the slaves assembled behind him. They all were watching with a great satisfaction their burning prison while most of them were sporting smiles full of satisfaction. They watched the burning mansions for a few more minutes before they all took off. As much as they had all wanted to stay and watch this hell burn down to the ground until nothing but ashes was left.

They all knew that they had to get away from this place before they were caught again while watching this beautiful sight in front of them. No doubt it, the Marines must be on their way already.

Fisher Tiger was not taking any notice of this; he was staring at the brightly burning fire with a blank face. He still had one thing left to do before he could leave this place, too. His eyes narrowed when he saw Boa, Marigold and Sandersonia come running out of one of the burning mansions behind them. Their clothes burned at some places and their skin covered in ashes and soot. Even though, they looked like they might have nearly been burned alive, they had all a determined and relief filled expression on their faces. How curious that one was, he shrugged and smirked to himself in irony when he heard what Boa whispered to him while passing him.

“Heh, I make sure of that,” Fisher Tiger seemed to tell himself. “Don’t worry, little girl, the world will know...”

Not looking back after he heard the sisters leave, he made his way over to the burning mansions. He still had a last message to leave behind for all those people out there. They needed to know just as to why this had happened and that it would be happening again if he had a say in this. Of course, but that could only happen if the idiotic world government would get their act sorted out.

_**~ A few minutes later, out in the sea...** _

Boa, Marigold and Sandersonia were together in a boat with all the others slaves that had escaped with them. They were all staring at the burning Mariejois. None of them had really thought that they would ever be able to see the outside again. They had thought they would be forever stuck on that cursed and hell turned land. They were free now; they had been able to leave their personal hell behind and were watching on how it was burning to the ground. It was very satisfying to watch their prison burn down to the ground like this. It was a dream coming true for most of them. ` _Those bastards deserved this! All of them! Especially those disgusting fools that are call men! BURN!_ ´ Boa thought with a sick satisfaction while she imagined the whole male population of Mariejois burn to their death. Revenge was surely a sweet thing for her. A chuckle escaped her at that thought.

Marigold and Sandersonia, on the other hand, were staring with blank faces at their burning prison. They were just glad that it was all over now and they that had taken the chance to flee from Mariejois. They both were very sure that Boa would have most likely snapped if she had been forced to stay on this land for longer. They knew what Boa had been thinking about those nobles and what she wanted to do to them. Hell, when they thought about it. It was a great fortune for them that they had heard about Fisher Tiger who wanted to rescue them. As much as they were loathed to admit, it was the best way to have been rescued right now. It was the much safer way for them all, too. ` _Yes, safer for us all.... If Onee-sama had been really forced to stay longer here... I doubt that anyone would have made it out alive from there, especially when the world government had heard about this,_ ´ Sandersonia glanced at Boa who was smirking at the flames. She shivered a little at the look on her sister’s face. Yes, it was really better that way.

Marigold was staring warily at the smirking Boa. She knew what Boa was like when she was pushed to her limits. She had seen it often enough back in Amazon Lily and the few battles that they had on their ship what Boa was like in fights and all out battles. It was truly a fearsome sight, yet it was so very beautiful, too. ` _But this is scary... Onee-sama is too scary right now,_ ´ Marigold shivered a little before turning her whole attention to the burning Mariejois. She did not really want to think about what could have happened if they had stayed any longer on Mariejois. She really did not want to.

“What a beautiful sight,” Boa murmured to herself.

It actually was when you were in the same position as Boa and all the others. The way the boats were floating atop the water and seeming to bring a great distance between Mariejois and them. The way those flames licked away on the burning mansions and seemed to reach higher and higher with the distances increasing. It was as if those flames were trying to take the whole land and sky over with its height. It surprised Boa and the other ex-slaves that the intense heat of the flames had not reached them yet. Although, they were already a good distance away but the flames had reached such a big scale of height that they did not look any smaller at all. It was truly curious as to why that was.

“I never thought I would see this day,” a woman muttered loud enough for them all to hear.

“I hear you,” another said, his eyes were fixed firmly onto the flames in front of him. “But I can’t say that I regret doing this!”

“Aye, lad,” the old man said.

Nothing was said after this and they all were giving one last glance at the burning Mariejois. Afterwards, they had all turned around as one and were setting the sails. They had finally gotten their freedom and with the burning of Mariejois, they were free to go wherever they wanted. They would be damned if they were not going to enjoy it. It was their past now and nothing was holding them back anymore. There were no Tenryuubito anymore to make their lives a living hell. They could all go back home and enjoy their freedom. It was damn time for it, too.

While Mariejois was burning and the freed slaves were each going their own and separated ways home, Fisher Tiger had left his message to the government on the burning Holy Land. But for Boa, Marigold and Sandersonia it would take another two years before they would finally be able to go home, to be with their families in Amazon Lily. Fate was certainly not finished with the three.


	7. Book 1 - Chapter 6 Freedom at last

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 1** _

_**Chapter 6** _   
_**Freedom at last** _

 

** _~ A few days later, somewhere on the Grandline..._ **

Boa was staring at the ship that she and her sisters had encountered since their memorable escape from Mariejois. Marigold and Sandersonia were staring with wide eyes at the giant ship that was easily towering over their little boat. The only ships that they had seen this tall was the one back home at Amazon Lily and the few Marine ships that they had encountered. Granted, some of those ships were really small, too. Boa narrowed her eyes at the ship and tried to get a look at the deck of it, maybe there were some idiots up there that would be foolish enough to pick her sisters and her up. Of course, she would go and use her Akuma no Mi powers to take over the ship. It would make things so much easier for the three of them to get back home.

For this to happen though, she would first have to see someone up there. Yet, she couldn’t see anyone up there, not a soul. It was as if the ship was devoted of any life up there. When she heard the snoring sounds coming from the deck, one thing was clear for Boa already. ` _As if I will take over a ship from some idiot drunks, I highly doubt we will even get back home with those idiots around,_ ´ Boa thought with scorn. Shaking her head, she signalled for her sister get around the ship. It was of no use for them.

“Onee-sama,” Sandersonia glanced at Boa while rounding the ship. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“Yes, how are we going to get back home?” Marigold asked, glancing at the motionless ship.

“Don’t worry you two,” Boa said after a few seconds of silence. “I will find for us a way to get back home. Trust me on this, I promise it.”

Marigold and Sandersonia nodded at their sister’s words. It was not every day that they got to hear Boa speak in such a determined filled voice to them and gave them a small smile while doing so. They did trust Boa, more so than Boa would ever know, she was their big sister after all. If they couldn’t trust her, then who could they trust? It certainly were not the people that they had been around for the past few years and especially males with the experiences they had with them, Boa more so than they.

“Hai, Onee-sama!” the two finally chorused at Boa.

Boa just gave a tiny small at her little sisters. Even though, they were all alone now, they still had each other and that is what mattered to them the most. ` _I should be happy that they had not sold us off alone, I’d hate to think of what would happen to them if they had,_ ´ Boa had turned her back to her sister, not showing them her scowl. She really loathed thinking of what could have happened to them if they had been each sold on their own.

_**~ Time skip unknown amount of time later...** _

It had been a week, maybe even more so, since the fall of Mariejois. It was currently night time on the Grandline and Boa was up taking the last watch. Her gaze was solely out on the sea, from time to time it swept back to her sister, making sure that they were still around with her and not somewhere other. The day had been a tiring one for them and so far, they had yet to encounter anyone from their home Amazon Lily, there was no sign of the Kuja Pirates as of yet. It was a bit worrisome for Boa. It was not like she thought that they had been abandoned by them but she knew that the Grandline was big and it could, maybe, take years for them to find any sign of them.

Boa had a sinking feeling that they were too far away from the Calm Belt, their home, for the Kuja Pirates to find them. Of course, she knew that she had to tell her little sisters of her suspicion, not that she would want to keep this a secret. Also, she really did not want to destroy any hope for them after all the things they had to go through. ` _It would destroy their last hope they are holding. I can’t do that to them, not after that has happened,_ ´ she thought with a grim expression. It had also not helped that they had a few days prior acquired a map of the Grandline, not as accurate as one could be but it gave them at least a little clue as to where they were currently at.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard loud music coming out of nowhere. Her head immediately snapped around in the direction from where the music was coming from. ` _Why the hell would there be any loud music out in the open sea? How can anyone be that stupid to let their location be known like this?_ ´ Boa thought with narrowed eyes, staring to her left where a giant ship took form. ` _Every pirate knows that it is a rookie mistake to do something like this! Or it could be some pirates that have already a reputation and they know that no one will attack them._ ´

Not even once had Boa thought it could be Marines that she was hearing. After all, Boa knew that Marines were not ones to party this loud with that much laughter around. They were just too uptight to have any fun whatsoever. Well, it was that and because she knew the waters they were currently in had no Marines around for miles. ` _If I remember correctly, those waters are like some save heaven for pirates,_ ´ Boa blinked when she could finally see the jolly roger of the ship in front of her. Somehow, she got the feeling she should have known that it could only be those pirates. ` _They are known for their parties even around the Kujas... I wonder, though,_ ´ Boa cocked her head to side, trying to listen if there was anything other going on the ship while musing about her next doings, ` _Why are they out here? They are not known to have any business here._ ´

While Boa was too busy of thinking how to use this opportunity to make their way back home, Marigold and Sandersonia had woken up from the loud music. Grunting and groaning while getting up, both sisters glared in the direction from the coming music. They had the best dream since the past few years and those bastards had dared to interrupt it.

“Onee-sama, what’s going on here?” Marigold asked, slowly getting up and still glaring at ship. “They are so loud!”

“Why is someone playing this loud music at night? Don’t they know that we need our sleep?” complained Sandersonia, she hated it to be woken up from her sleep.

“You can see for yourself, Sandersonia,” Boa commented, not looking at her sisters. “It can only be men that interrupt your sleep, disgusting creatures that they are.”

“Stupid, idiotic, moronic, blasted jerks,” Marigold sweat dropped when she heard Sandersonia mutter under her breath.

Boa was more amused at her little sister’s words than anything else. She agreed whole heartedly with Sandersonia on this matter. Men were overrated. Although, she was quite sure that this time around they would be certainly useful, if they played their cards right that is. ` _I cannot believe that I have to accept help from a man of all things. This is so shameful and pathetic of me,_ ´ Boa thought sullenly. She would have preferred it if she hadn’t need the help of a man. If it had been a woman, Boa would have jumped at the chance of getting home but a man? Now, that was just downright cruel to her. Men were not even allowed at their home for that, one more reason as to why she could not rust them. ` _But if the stories are true about this man... I should be able to get him to help me when he is drunk out of his mind,_ ´ Boa scowled at that thought, already hating the way things were going.

While the sisters were either complaining about being woken up like this or deep into their own thoughts, they failed to notice that the music had come to a stop and that the crew plus captain had come together at the railing. The men were all staring curiously down at the little boat that was in front of them and blinked when they saw the three girls in the small boat. Now, that was something that you did not see every day, even on the Grandline. The men on the ship were actually seemed more like teen with the way they acted. Yet, they were actually adults or they just enjoyed their youth that they still had.

“Hey, Captain, do you see what I see?” asked a young man with a cigarette between his lips. “I think I may be too drunk to see right here.”

“If you are too drunk, Benn,” a red head answered with a big smile on his face. “Then, what am I?”

Laughter roared around the young men at their captain’s words, forgetting for a moment as to what they had been staring at. Their captain sure knew how to keep the mood up. Benn hearing his captain’s words let out a suffering sigh. There was some times where he wondered as to why he had accepted to go with that idiot out on the sea and then there were some times where he knew why he went with that idiot. ` _Also, each time I never regretted to go with him,_ ´ Benn shook his head at that thought.

“You, my friend, are an idiot that does not know what alcohol poisoning is,” Benn said dryly and chuckled at the pout his friend gave him. “Sometimes I wonder how you are the captain of this ship.”

“That’s easy,” the red head had a carefree smile on his face. “I am just awesome like that.”

“In your dreams, Captain!” the crew shouted as one before more laughter went around them.

“Eh, you guys are just jealous of me,” the Captain waved them off.

Boa stared blankly up the idiots on front of her. There could be no way that those foolish airheads were supposed to be the crew of the red haired Shanks, a rookie pirate that was already whispered about. ` _I must be dreaming, no way those children could be already this feared by the marines!_ ´ Boa seemed to have forgotten that she was, too, still a child. Well, in the eyes of the other Kujas she was already an adult; after all she was allowed to go out on the sea with the Kuja Pirates. It always meant that one was an adult in their eyes, then. Of course, for those that did not want to go out on the sea, there was a coming of age ceremony on Amazon Lily.

Sighing, Boa crossed her arms over her chest, debating with herself to just turn those idiots to stone or not. It would certainly take care of a few problems for her if she did do it now.

“Onee-sama?” Marigold asked uncertainly, what was going on here?

“Aren’t those...?” Sandersonia didn’t really know what to say with what she had just witnessed.

“I am afraid so,” Boa said dryly, contempt clearly seen her eyes. “To think that those are supposed to be the Red Haired pirates, a disgrace to all pirates out there.”

“Hey, I heard that, missy!” Shanks yelled out, followed by a very loud smack and then a whine.

“Captain, that is no way to treat a lady,” Benn said annoyed, his hand still outstretched from the smack he had given his captain and friend. “And you wonder why they always avoid like you have the plague.”

“He is right, Captain,” another crewmember said, a huge piece of meat in his hand. “You have no idea how to treat women!”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Let’s get away from those psychopaths while we still have the chance,” Boa whispered to her sisters, somehow what she was seeing in front of her was giving her the creeps. “It doesn’t matter if they could have helped us; they are men and weird ones at that.”

“Hai, Onee-sama,” the two whispered back.

While Shanks was busy arguing with his crew, Boa and her little sister took that as their chance to escape those men. ` _I’ll be damned before I ask those men for any help, especially when they are such weird ones! Screw us getting home for the moment, we need to get away from those creatures first!_ ´ she thought while furiously oaring as if her life was depending on it. Maybe it was.

_**~ Time skip, a few days later at some unknown island...** _

Marigold and Sandersonia were staring at their sleeping sister who had been oaring their small boat for a few days now. It had surprised them that their big sister had been able to oar this fast but then again, they had never thought that she had wanted to be away from those pirates this fast, either. So, now they had found themselves at this small island and they had yet to encounter any people on it. Of course, it was not like they had gone and tried to find any. They were more concerned for their sister that was sleeping away next to them. Boa was in desperate need of a break from all the travelling they had done in the last few weeks.

Since their escape from Mariejois they had only seen the blue sea and a few ships that they had raided for water and food. It was actually pretty depressing when they thought about it. This was actually the first time that they had been on land again and it was actually a good feeling to be back on it. It was certainly better than the always rocking of the boat and that damn blue sea. It didn’t matter how much they loved the sea, they missed their home too.

“Do you think we will ever get back home?” Marigold suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

“Of course, I do, Marigold,” Sandersonia turned to face her sister, giving her a look. “Do you doubt that we will ever get back home?”

“Ah... Well, it is not that,” Marigold stuttered out, not finding the words she was looking for. “It’s just that... We have not heard anything about Kuja Pirates being around here. Don’t you think that they are searching for us?”

Sandersonia gave Marigold a long and hard stare, taking her words in, “I do know what you are getting at, Marigold, but don’t you think that they may have given up on us? It has been years after all, I doubt that they have ever thought of searching for us in Mariejois.”

Marigold was taken aback by Sandersonia, she had not really thought about this fact. She had always assumed that the Kuja Pirates had been searching for them all this time and not given up their hope of ever finding them. She had thought that they would finally encounter the ship somewhere on their search and would finally be able to get home, forgetting about this damn place they had been imprisoned for years. Yet, the words that Sandersonia had just spoken, ` _I never thought she would think like this. Sandersonia, did Mariejois really change you this much?_ ´

While Marigold was thinking over Sandersonia words, said person had decided to study her little sister. She had already a good guess as to what Marigold was thinking about. After all, it was not like you would be hearing Sandersonia speaking such words every day. It was not like her to do such, she had always been the one to see the positive side of it all while Marigold always questioned her. This time around, though, it was the other way around. ` _Mariejois does change people, Marigold, whether you like it or not. One can never stay the same after what they have gone through there, you should know this, too,_ ´ Sandersonia thought sadly, wishing that all those years in that hell had never happened.

The perfect proof of Mariejois changing people had been Boa after all. She was the best example for people to see that Mariejois is hell on earth. Boa, who had once been more open and childish, had changed into a woman that loathed anything to do with the Tenryuubito. She despised males like they were insects that should be crushed and left for dead. Boa’s once childish nature had completed disappeared and she had matured over a curse of days in that place. ` _Well, you have to if you want to live in this place and keep your sanity intact,_ ´ Sandersonia glanced sadly at the slumbering Boa.

“Sandersonia,” Marigold said in a small voice, Sandersonia’s words still heavy on her mind. “What do you think will happen from now on?”

“I have no idea, Marigold,” she admitted, sounding hopelessly lost. “I wish I knew, though.”

“I just want to be home,” whispered Marigold, looking down at her feet. “I hate feeling this hopeless.”

“Don’t we all?” snorted Sandersonia out, a weak laugh leaving her lips. Marigold shuddered at the sound of this hollow laugh. “Onee-sama has the strongest desire to be home. If the way she is acting is anything to go by.”

“Stop talking so depressing you two,” Boa’s voice rang out. “I know you guys miss Amazon Lily, I also know that you hate the situation we are currently in but we can’t change this fact. The only thing we can do now is search for our home and hope that we meet anyone from the Kuja Pirates out here.”

“Hai, Onee-sama!”

Grunting, Boa decided to finally get up. As much as she needed a break, she knew that lazing around all day would not help their situation. They needed to find food and water, they had nothing left of either since their encounter with that red haired pirate. ` _That and I think my stomach is about it itself up if I do not get something to eat soon,_ ´ Boa grimaced at that thought.

“Let’s go and search for some food, we have run out of it since we had our last raid on a ship,” Boa dusted herself up from all the sand and slowly made her way in the direction of the jungle behind her. “If we are already at it, we need water, too.”

“I get the water,” Marigold volunteered, knowing that she would not be great help when it came to hunting animals for their meat. “Lord knows that I suck at hunting.”

“I’ll help with the hunting, then,” Sandersonia said while transforming into her giant snake form. “Yes, you need work on that.”

“Good, we will meet her at sundown again, got that, you two?”

“Yes!”

_**~ Time skip a few weeks later, at the Sabaody Archipelago...** _

Boa was glaring down at the new elder of Amazon Lily, Elder Nyon. She had once been the Empress Gloriosa of the Kuja in Amazon Lily but she had broken one of the most important rules of their tribe. She had left the island behind to be with a filthy man because she was in love with him. It was something that no one of the Kuja had forgiven her for and one of the reasons as to why Boa hated this woman. ` _All the more reasons to hate men,_ ´ Boa thought while her glare was getting more deadlier with each passing second.

Marigold and Sandersonia were glancing warily between the two glaring women. It had been a day ago that they had been found by Elder Nyon and been brought back to Sabaody Archipelago by her. It was for Boa another reason to hate this old woman in front of her. Both sisters let out a sigh when those kept glaring at each other.

“Onee-sama really doesn’t like her, does she?”

“Understatement of the year if you ask me,” murmured Sandersonia with a shake of her head. “You would think she is happy to see someone from Amazon Lily after all those weeks and months out there.”

“Well, this is Onee-sama we are talking here about,” countered Marigold. “She always does what one last expects from her, doesn’t she?”

“Well, true enough,” an annoyed sigh. “But it wouldn’t be Onee-sama if she didn’t, right?”

There was suddenly a chuckle coming from behind the two and they jumped in surprise at hearing it. Turning around, Marigold and Sandersonia stared at the male that was behind them. The male in question was smiling in amusement at the scene in front of them while drinking some sake.

“R- Rayleigh-san!” both stuttered out before they yelled in anger at him. “Why are you sneaking up on us like this?”

Rayleigh ignored the angry girls in front of him in favour of laughing at the faces they were making at him. Of course, when he thought about it, it may have not been his smartest idea. In fact, it was a very stupid idea when you take in the facts that those two girls had not only eaten an Akuma no Mii but had very excellent control over their Haki, too. Ah well, it was worth the laugh.

“Rayleigh-san!”

“Ah, you girls should calm down and relax once in a while,” the man said with a good hearted smile. “Look at your sister, she is doing the same!”

“She isn’t, she is trying to stare Elder Nyon to death!” Marigold countered the smiling man out.

“Yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if she turns her to stone,” Sandersonia committed with a lazy shrug, her glare not leaving Rayleigh once. “But I do agree, we should do just as Onee-sama is doing!”

“Un!”

“W- Wait, girls,” Rayleigh tried to sooth the angered Zoan users, “we should talk about this before you do anything drastic. Wouldn’t you two agree to this?”

_**~ Time skip a few hours later...** _

It was now night time at the Sabaody Archipelago and the three Kuja had been brought to Rayleigh’s house for the night and provided with food and rooms to sleep in. Boa was still up and about in the room she had been provided with. Marigold and Sandersonia were sleeping in another room together on Boa’s insisting. Rayleigh had no problems with it; he may have already had a feeling as to why Boa had insisted that those two shared a room without her. ` _Not that I care if that old man knows my reasons, it is not like he will be able to help me,_ ´ Boa thought grimly while watching the night sky through her window.

The last few hours had certainly been a hassle to go through and Boa knew that this was just the beginning of something big to happen. Elder Nyon had been kind enough to inform Boa as to what had happened since her and her little sisters had escaped Mariejois. Boa hadn’t been pleased with the information at all. The Marines had taken it upon themselves to provide guards for Mariejois and even went so far as to promise to help those Tenryuubito into rebuilding Mariejois. It was disgusting and sickening to hear about, Boa did not know what to say to this news. ` _They are the worse of the worse, that low life scum!_ ´ she was seething silently. ` _How can these people, who fight for justice, be such hypocrites and help these monsters with rebuilding their home?_ ´

Biting her lip, Boa turned her back to the window and crossed her arms. It had not been the only bad news that Elder Nyon had told her. Amazon Lily had been in uproar since Marigold, Sandersonia and she had been missing, they had gone after every Marine and pirate ship that they could find. They had hoped to get any clues as to where they had gone off to or who it had been that had kidnapped them. They had not taken too kindly to it that people of their own had been taken from them and they had shown it. Boa felt flattered to know that the Kuja had been searching for them all those years but she also knew that the consequence of their actions would be dire and she loathed to think of what was going to happen in the near future because of it.

` _All this thinking about them, it is giving me a headache,_´ Boa rubbed her temples before letting out an annoyed sound. ` _I doubt that any of those Marines will take this lying down. I am surprise that they have yet to relate to this wholes mess. Whatever they are planning for us Kuja, it is not anything good, I can feel it in the air._ ´

“This is such a troublesome mess,” Boa let out an annoyed sigh. “Why did we have to be kidnapped all those years ago? If that hadn’t had happened, then none of this would have happened and we wouldn’t be in this mess! If only I had been strong enough to fight those bastards off...”

Boa let out another sigh and shook her head. It was no use to think over spilled milk like this, what has happened has happened, what is done is done. There was no use in trying to change it.

“If only I could change it all,” Boa murmured to herself before letting out a frustrated sigh. “Damn it, this whole mess is going to get us into problems, I just know it. I can’t let anything happen to Sandersonia and Marigold; they went already through so much. They shouldn’t suffer anymore, not because of this!”

Turning on her heels again, Boa looked out of the window again. She kept her eyes firmly on the night sky, hoping that it may be the one to give her answers to all the problems that were going on right now.

“You wouldn’t know what I could do about this all, would you?”

Sadly, there was no answer to Boa’s question. Not that she had thought she would be getting one; it was just her hoping, wasn’t it?

“Heh, it would have been too good to be true if you had given me an answer,” a weak chuckle left her lips. “What are we supposed to do now?”

** _~ Outside Boa’s room..._ **

Elder Nyon who had heard everything that Boa had said, let out a sigh. ` _She is too young to think already about such things. She should have never gone through such a life changing situation,_ ´ the old woman thought sadly. ` _These are our problems and not hers; she is just an unfortunate soul that has been dragged into this whole mess, just like her sisters. Why is it always the young ones that have to suffer for the mistakes which we old ones have done?_ ´

“Poor child, so young and yet she had gone through so much already,” Elder Nyon spoke to herself, mindful that Boa did not hear her.

Lingering for a few more seconds outside of Boa’s bedroom, Elder Nyon decided against entering it like she had originally intended. It would be of no use now to try and talk with Boa, the girl was emotional unstable right now with all the things she had been told just a few moments ago. ` _And with the way she has spoken right now, I doubt I would be of any help to her. She is making our problems hers, too. She is acting like an Empress of the Kuja right now. Maybe it is time that we do have a new ruler at home._ ´

“But first, we have to make sure that those three girls get safely back home.”

Nodding to herself, Elder Nyon left her spot and made her way to Rayleigh. ` _That sneaky, old man should be able to keep those girls for a few weeks with him here. He owes me after all,_ ´ she thought to herself. ` _I have to take care of a few things before I can let Boa come back home with her sisters. She needs to accept the fact first that this it is not her fault as to what has happened back at home with the Marines and Kuja. If she has accepted this, only then can I let her come home._ ´

Of course, it was all easier said than done. Elder Nyon knew that Boa was too stubborn to just easily accept the fact she was not at fault at all. Nyon knew that the Kuja would have gone after the Marines in a great scale someday anyways. Boa, Marigold and Sandersonia’s disappearance had just given them an excuse earlier to attack those idiots. ` _We could not have avoided it either way, this was bound to happen._ ´

“Now, if I were Rayleigh, where would I go and hide myself away?” Nyon mused aloud herself. “He should be delighted to hear about the fact that he will have some guests around for a few weeks.”


	8. Book 1 - Epilogue

CPR/KM: sings I hate working, I loathe being an adult~! Why must I be working?  
Lilly: ... Ignore her, she lost it... Then again, I do understand what she is going through. Your workplace is hell!  
CPR/KM: I know, okay... I am so happy when I can finally leave this shit hole after I am done with my education there...

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything...

 

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 1** _

_** Epilogue ** _

 

~ Some _ **where out on the sea, near Amazon Lily...**_

Boa was looking at Amazon Lily, her home which was in reaching distance, while trying to ignore her sisters’ happy squeals of finally being home. As loathe as she was to admit it, Elder Nyon had done her best to help them recover from all those bad experiences they had made on Mariejois all those years they had been there. ` _Although, I have not really made her job all that easier for her, now have I?_ ´ Boa mused to herself while thinking back on all those months spend away from any human contact with Elder Nyon. Those weeks had been hell for not only her but for Elder Nyon as well. Boa had fought against the aged woman at every step that she could to prove that she was in the right while the old woman was not.

In the end, though it had not all been for naught, Elder Nyon had decided that Boa was mental well enough to be allowed home. Boa had been happy when she had finally heard those words, the words she had longed to hear for so many years. That she was finally going to be home, back to her tribe, back to her sisters and aunts. Of course, Boa had no idea what her tribe had thought about her and her sisters going missing in a matter of hours when they had been out on the sea. She had no idea that the women of Amazon Lily were in a fight with the Marines about their disappearance. Elder Nyon had kept silent about the on goings back home, that hadn’t stopped Boa from getting the old coot to get her to bring them home. ` _Didn’t work out either way, did it? That damned old rat insisted that we needed some time to recover from this! As if!_ ´

Sandersonia and Marigold were trading nervous looks and meaningful glances with each other. They could already feel the mood of their big sister going down a few notches, from good to get the hell from me. The two had already a good idea as to what their sister was brooding about, again. It was not really that hard go figure out, either. They knew that Boa was not really happy at some, well more like all, decisions that Elder Nyon had taken against them on getting home. Then again, they did see reason in some of them. ` _Onee-sama is a total different story, though. She would rather have recovered back at home, that might have been better for her,_ ´ Sandersonia thought while remember back to a certain event.

She hadn’t known that the human body could bend in such ways, let alone that a male could bend in such ways. Elder Nyon had somehow managed to get Boa’s hate for men, anything male, to grow in such a rate that it was impossible for Boa to look upon them like a normal person. ` _Onee-sama always had this royalness around her when it came to dealing with those things,_ ´ she thought while wondering if ‘royalness’ was even a word. Well, it was now! There was no other word to describe her sister better than that one.

“I think Onee-sama is having one of her moods again,” Marigold suddenly said, making Sandersonia look at her.

“What do you mean?” the green haired woman said, crossing her arms and looking at her sister. “When is Onee-sama not having one of her moods?”

“Ah... good question,” muttered the younger one to herself. “But I didn’t mean those moods... I meant _**that**_ mood, the one that she gets around men.”

Sandersonia blinked before she looked where Marigold was pointing at and stared blankly at the scene that was now playing out in front of her. Boa had kicked the man that was working on the ship, so he was on his back while she was bending backwards as far as she could and pointing a finger at him, yelling at him and demanding from him what he thought he was doing. ` _Rayleigh-san.... Elder Nyon... I doubt that this is what you had in mind when it came to our way back home,_ ´ Sandersonia lamented to herself while looking around herself to see a few stone statues of the crew from the ship. So far, the only persons that were not turned into stone were Marigold, Boa, herself and, as of now, the captain of the ship. Also, she did not doubt that the captain would be turned into stone soon enough with the way Boa was currently behaving.

Really, what had Elder Nyon been thinking when she send those three alone on their way to Amazon Lily. Well, to the beginning it hadn’t been only the three sisters on their way back home but Elder Nyon had been with them. ` _Until Onee-sama decided she couldn’t stand Elder Nyon’s voice anymore and her idiotic lectures about how we should behave while on the ship... Onee-sama... your Akuma no Mi is truly something else when you use it._ ´

“-sonia, I think we aren’t that far away from home anymore,” Marigold said, staring out on the sea. “I think I can see the Sea Kings!”

“Hu?” Sandersonia stared at where Marigold was now pointing at. Sure enough, there was actually a few Sea Kings fighting each other. “No way, we’re nearly home!”

“I wonder what the others are doing...”

_ **~ Meanwhile in Amazon Lily...** _

The Kuja pirates had just gotten back home a few minutes ago and already they were getting to hear from their people how their missing children would be home soon. Of course, the whole tribe was getting ready for having them back and was preparing a giant feast for the three girls. The pirates were watching all this happening with mixed feelings while unloading their ship and listening to the women speaking about it. It had been years since they had last seen Boa, Sandersonia and Marigold on the ship before they had gone missing. Most of the time, the pirates had gone and put the blame on themselves for having lost those three precious children, especially when one of the children had been nominated as a the new Empress of them.

It was surprising that none of the women had called for their blood in losing their future ruler. Then again, Nyon had actually gone and threaten her Amazons, to that time they still were her people no matter what they claim otherwise, with a death should they now leave and let their village be defenceless. No one had been happy with that threat being spoken out, especially when they had all thought that Elder Nyon would have never gone ahead with something like this. Not what she herself had gone and betrayed her own people like this, having gone and fallen in love with a _**man**_ , having left their village to be with that creature that had no value in their lives but to give them children. Of course, not all of the Amazons knew that men were needed to have children, not all having wanted to become warriors and leave the village with the other warriors out on the sea.

Then again, some were and would always be needed back home should someone actually get to their village, not this had ever happened. Even when it had, they had made sure that no one would be allowed to leave their island still alive, less they tell people how they could get to them. It was better that only the women of Amazon Lily knew where their home was.

“Have you heard when they will arrive?” a blond woman asked her companion. “I mean, the Kuja Pirates said they would soon be home but when is this soon?”

“Sorry, I haven’t got any ideas as to when that is either,” her companion answered, a tall blue haired woman with a scar going down her left side of her face. “They only said soon and that would be all that matters.”

“Damn it! This is not fair!” the blond whined. “Why do they get to know when our wayward children are going to be back home with us?”

“Beats me,” the blue haired woman shrugged. “Now come on, we still have many preparations to finish before they finally arrive.”

“Yes, yes!”

_**~ Time skip a few days later, Amazon Lily at the docks...** _

A dingy little boat had taken its final stop at the docks of Amazon Lily and it had drawn all the women of Amazon Lily immediately to it. Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that the small boat was containing three girls that most of them were very much attached to. A loud cheer went around the crowd of women with many of them yelling how they finally had their wayward children back home, the way it should be.

“Onee-sama...”

“Eh?” Marigold was a bit overwhelmed by this loud welcome back as was Sandersonia. “T- This is...”

“This is only fitting for us to be welcomed back like this,” Boa said, standing in front of her sisters and ignoring the way they were welcomed back. “It shows us just were our place in this world is! Not outside with those rotten creatures called men but home with the other women of Amazon Lily!”

“Hai, Onee-sama!” the two chorused, forgetting for a moment that they had been overwhelmed by this welcome.

“Now, let’s go and greet our families!” Boa said with a small smile.

Sandersonia and Marigold hadn’t been needed to be told this twice and were already off and tackling the women in hugs and exclaiming how they had missed their home. Boa, on the other hand, kept herself more in the background, drinking in the sight of her home with all the women that were her aunts and sisters in, like a starved women that hadn’t been able to get a decent meal in weeks. In a way it was true, Boa hadn’t been able to see her home in so many years and she only wanted to make sure that this was no dream of hers.

“It is good to be home...”


	9. Book 2 - Prologue

 

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 2** _

_**Prologue** _

 

_**~ Time skip, a few years later at Godric’s Hollow...** _

James Potter was a mess, it was simple as that. Today would be marking the day that his daughter had gone missing from the Dursleys. ` _Six years, it has been six years,_ ´ he reminded himself. It did not help him in his misery that one of his best friends since Hogwarts was keeping his distance from him. Sirius had kept away from James since the latter had gone ahead and abandoned his daughter to his in-laws. It was understandable on Sirius part; his goddaughter was left with Muggles that would rather not have anything to do with them because of their magic. Lily had tried already to rekindle with her sister but Petunia had shot Lily every time down when her sister came over for a visit. Why James had ever gotten the bright idea of leaving Rose-Lynn with those people, Sirius had never understood and probably never will.

James for his part was drowning and swimming in guilt, if only he had not gone ahead and left his baby girl with those people. Heck, even Dumbledore was angry with the Potter Lord. The kind old man had stopped to address James with the familiarly greeting of ‘Hello my boy’, now the aged Headmaster of Hogwarts only spoke to him when it was absolutely necessary. Even then, he addressed him only by his title which was a low punch to James. ` _I do deserve this, don’t I? I should have listened to them,_ ´ the man thought mournfully.

The only one that was really still talking with him was Remus but even his kind friend had sometimes problems to really speak to him eye to eye. Remus for his part tried to stay neutral, not really wanting to pick any sides. It was hard to play moderator between the two friends of his, especially with Sirius being stubborn and always trying to guilt trip James. Of course, Remus always being the understanding one was trying his best to make sure that Sirius and James were not trying to murder each other when they were in the same room. It was never a good thing to leave those two alone in a room for even a few minutes. The last time that had happened, Potter Manor had to be rebuilt after Sirius had snapped at James for being a horrible father and husband.

The only one that had no real idea as to what was going on between his family consisting of his uncles and father was little Charles. He may be a smart little cookie for a seven year old; still he did not really understand as to why his father and Uncle Sirius were not really happy when they were around each other. He also did not understand why his father was always looking so sad at the picture of the red haired woman with a baby in her arms. He had once tried to ask his father what made him so sad about the picture but the answer he got had only confused him more.

He even once asked his Grandpa Albus but the man had only sadly looked at him and told him he would explain to him when he was older. It was frustrating the seven year old to no end. Why could no one give him a real answer to his question about the red haired woman and the baby in the picture? It was not fair that he had to wait until he was older. When would he be old enough to finally understand the answer? Wasn’t seven years old enough already? Adults were so mean at times.

_**~ Time skip, later that day...** _

It was night time and little Charles had been put to bed already which James was glad for because he did not how he could explain to his seven year old son as to why his father was crying right now and having a break down. Of course, he knew that he owned his son an explanation as to what was going on and why his Uncles and Grandpa were so angry with him but James just couldn’t. He had once tried to explain it to his son but he doubted that he had done any good at that time. Maybe confused his son more than he already was and that was something he did not want to do anymore. Perhaps, when his son was older to understand, then he would explain but right now he just could not. Not when he was still breaking down with just seeing a picture of his deceased wife and his missing baby girl.

Right now though, he was sitting in the living room of his home and was staring with wet eyes at the pictures of Lily and Rose-Lynn. He was furious with himself for being so stupid in giving his little girl away to the Dursleys and he was furious at his in-laws for not telling him that his daughter had gone missing from them in a matter of days. He had left them means of contacting him should anything ever happen, heck he had even made sure that they would be getting money to make sure that his baby girl was okay while being with them. ` _Load shit of good that had been! They had gone and spend the money in a matter of a day that was supposed to be for my baby girl,_ ´ James thought darkly, tears running down his cheeks.

If he had known that something like this would happen, then he would have never gone ahead and done this. First his wonderful Lily had died and then his daughter had gone missing. Sirius was furious with him for having given his goddaughter away just like this, Dumbledore was angry at him for doing something so foolish and irrational. Remus, kind wonderful Remus that he is, was treating him with indifference. Of course, the man still talked with him but it was not like it was supposed to be. Remus was far too neutral in any of their talks but it was better than given the same silent treatment that Sirius was giving him. Was nothing ever supposed to be good for him?

Before he could go any further into his depressing thoughts, a tired sounding voice brought him back to the here and now.

“Still no signs of her, James?” a man with grey streaks going through his brown hair asked. “I tried even asking around the packs for you. No one of them has heard of a little girl suddenly appearing near them.”

“Thanks, Moony,” James said, wiping the tears from his cheeks. “I appreciate your doings; I just wish they would be more fruitful...”

Remus sighed at hearing his friend speaking in such a tone and idly wondered how long James had been sitting like this here all alone in the dark while crying. ` _Is it really so hopeless to find Rosy? Not even magic had been able to find her, which is a scaring thought on its own. Wherever she is, it is hiding her from us way too good,_ ´ the werewolf thought while taking a seat opposite from James.

“Let’s see it from the positive side,” Remus spoke up, making James look at him. “Every spell we have tried told us that she is happy and healthy as can be wherever she is at!”

James gave his friend a sour look at those words, “I guess you are right. I just wished she was still here with us.”

Remus bit the inside of his cheek to keep his comment to himself and nodded mutely at James words. ` _Well, we could still have Rose-Lynn here if you hadn’t gone ahead and send her away in first the place, now would we? Why did you think sending her away was a bright idea anyways?_ ´ Remus thought bitingly while trying to keep a hold of his wolf who was furiously snarling and demanding that James was taught a lesson about abandoning pack like that.

“Don’t worry, James,” Remus forced himself to not let his wolf take over and hurl some very hurtful, yet truthful words at his head. It wouldn’t get them anywhere. “I am sure we will find her soon enough.”

James gave his friend a watery smile as answer and Remus sighed. This was just too messed up.

_**~ Meanwhile in Amazon Lily...** _

“What is the meaning of this?” Boa Hancock, newly appointed Empress of Amazon Lily, snarled out while seeing Elder Nyon in front of her. “How did you get inside my palace? I made sure you were lost out in the sea!”

“Ah, now, now,” Elder Nyon said with a smile, while sweating on the inside in fear. Boa was just too terrifying when she was in one of her moods as she had gotten to feel once. “I am still the Elder of Amazon Lily and as such it is my duty to make sure that our new Empress knows of all her duties to our tribe!”

Boa was glaring down at Elder Nyon while trying her best to not lose her temper. It would do her no good as the newly appointed Empress to lose her temper this soon and make her tribe, her family, her sisters, fearful of her. Marigold and Sandersonia may be the only ones with her and that old croon right now, yet it was wiser to not tempt fate and have her tribe see her lose her compose just like that. ` _No, not good at all, also my powers may be able to help me and keep my people in line... It is best to not use it all the time, lest it will be obvious and they rebel against me. I need them to trust me on their own, just like they do now with having suggested that I should take the position. I better not lose their trust through such actions,_ ´ Boa thought idly, not really paying any attention as to what Elder Nyon was going on and on about.

Marigold and Sandersonia were watching from the sidelines the scene in front of them and shuddered when they suddenly saw the devious smirk on Boa’s beautiful face. They had known that it was not a wise idea for Elder Nyon to just appear like that inside the palace, not after what had happened previously when the old woman thought to have a brilliant idea. It had ended with her turning into stone and being thrown into the ocean. The only thing that was surprising them was the fact that the woman had somehow managed to become a human again instead of staying a stone statue and make it back to Amazon Lily in one piece.

“Boa-chan! Are you even listening to me?”

The two sisters glanced at each other when they heard the woman asked their elder sister this question. This was not going to end in any way, shape or form good. They winced when they saw the murderous look appear on their sister face. Yes, she was still pretty upset with the Elder it would seem.

“Honestly, Boa-chan! You must listen when other people talk with you! It is unbecoming of an Empress if she cannot answer to her subjects when she ignores them like this!”

“Elder Nyon,” Boa began to speak in a sweet tone, her face giving off an innocent look.

` _Uh-oh, this is not good, not good at all._ ´ Sandersonia was shaking her head while Marigold wondered if the old croon knew what she was doing when it came to dealing with Boa when she used her devil fruit’s powers.

“Ah, it is such a lovely and cute expression!” Elder Nyon gushed out, hearts in her eyes the moment she got a good look at the face which Boa made. “Ahyaa~!”

` _Apparently she did not know or else she wouldn’t have fallen for this,_ ´ Marigold thought with a sweat drop and watched the happenings in front of her. ` _Onee-sama is really not in the mood for this..._ ´

“Onee-sama is going to have another statue added to her garden,” Sandersonia said dryly, her tongue flicking out. “To think this is the sixth time this week only.”

“And it is only Wednesday,” Marigold added while watching how Boa’s hands formed a heart. “Well, I doubt she will want to keep this one statue.”

“True,” Sandersonia murmured, more to herself than Marigold. A little louder she said, “This is one too ugly statue and we know just how much Onee-sama hates ugly things.”

“Mero Mero Mellow!”

The two sisters let out a tired sigh when they heard their sister.

“Old fool, do you really think I will listen to such a disgrace like you?” Boa sneered, her face taking on a deadly yet beautiful shine. “As if! I have no need to listen to the likes of you, **Gloriosa**! You might have changed your name and taken on your duties as an Elder like the pervious Empresses before you have. Yet, you are still a disgrace to our tribe,  to our home, with having left and abandoned us like you have!”

Sandersonia and Marigold were staring with wide eyes at the way that their older sister was talking down to Elder Nyon who was slowly turning to stone and having a horrified expression on her face. It was truly a pitiful sight to see.

“Did you really think I would not know what you have done?” Boa asked with a haughty look on her face, circling the old woman, her voice so full of hate. “Our tribe, _**my people**_ , might have forgotten who you once were. I have not! So, do you not go around and try to preach about duties to _MY_ people when it was **you** that has **abandoned us**!”

Boa had come to a stop in front of the older woman and was sneering down at her. She was relishing in the fact that she was able to control how fast the old hag in front of her could turn into stone. She enjoyed the horrified expression on the woman’s face. She did deserve this and so much more if Boa had any say in this matter.

“Let me tell you this, _Gloriosa_ ,” Boa gave the woman a cold look whose face was half covered on stone, frozen in a fearful expression. “Stay out of my business and the way I rule our island, my people, my tribe-sisters, and you will have no problems with me!”

The last thing that Elder Nyon saw was the cold expression of indifference on Boa’s face before blackness overtook her whole vision and she knew no more.

“Get this ugly thing out of my sight!” Boa ordered her tone cold and still filled with hate. “And get the whole tribe together. We have a coronation to celebrate, do we not?”


	10. Book 2 - Chapter 1 Hogwarts Years

 

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 2** _

_** Chapter 1 ** _   
_** Hogwarts Years ** _

 

_**~ Godric’s Hollow, July 31st 1991...** _

The day was hot and the air felt heavy on July 31st. If the people could, they tried to stay away from the unbearable heat of the sun and kept to the shadows or their cool homes. Well, if their air-conditioning has not broken down that is, even then it was still too hot for them. It felt like the heat was just too surreal and most families had decided to go to the local pool and cool down there. Of course, not all people were plagued by this strange heat wave, if one were to ask the strange figures dressed in cloaks. If asked, they would ask you what heat you were talking about. If one were to ask as to why they walked around in the blaring sun dressed in those cloaks, they would only get a stare as answer. While those people would mutter something under their breath, it sounded suspicious like ‘Muggle’, whatever that may mean.

Those strangely dressed people were none others but wizards and witches, hiding directly under the noses of the Muggles, or better known as non magical people. As to why they did not seem to mind the strange heat wave while being dressed in their cloaks. They would simple answer with a simple freezing charm to keep them cool and not sweat. Of course, the Muggles still thought that those people were strange, yet this is not what one should concentrate on. For a boy that has just turned eleven on this day, the heat was on the far back of his mind. His was more concentrated on the fact that today would his Hogwarts letter arrive, that and it was his birthday.

Of course, the letter was more interesting than the fact he turned eleven on this day. Something that was clearly shown with the way the young boy was currently acting.

“DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD!” a messy red haired child shrieked while running through the halls of his home, trying to find his wayward father. “DAD, YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHAT JUST ARRIVED!”

The child continued to scream and run through the house while in search of his father. Because of that he failed to notice how said father was actually behind him. Said person was shaking his head at his son’s enthusiasm because his letter arrived and was asking himself if he had been acting like his son when he had gotten his very first letter from Hogwarts. ` _Probably_ ,´ the man mused to himself, a smile lightening his face up at the joy that his son was radiating like a sun. ` _I should put a stop to his running before he destroys something in the house.._ ´

“DAD, COME ON! WHERE ARE YOU?” the child screamed which was followed by a loud crash and the sound of glass breaking. This was followed by a loud yell of, “I DIDN’T DO IT!”

“Too late for that already,” the tall black haired man muttered to himself, making his way to where the sounds of the crash had come from. “Charlie, what did you do?”

The boy, Charlie, winced when he heard his father’s voice and tried his best to look as innocent as possible while standing in the middle of the chaos he had created. A broken vase was lying next to him while the window had a large hole through it and a few pieces were still falling from it. ` _Yep, doesn’t look so good for me,_ ´ he winced at that thought again. ` _Where to hide? Where to hide?_ ´

While the boy was frantically searching around for a good spot to hide himself away, his father was looking on with an amused face at the panicked expression on the face of his son. Shaking his head, James decided to make himself known to his son.

“So, Charlie,” he drawled lazily out, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, “you didn’t do what exactly?”

“Urhm, nothing?” the boy tried to lie to his father with an innocent expression firmly planted onto his face. “I am a little angel!”

James chuckled before giving his son a look, “Nice try, my boy, but you weren’t really subtle in hiding this mess or when you made it!”

Charlie could feel his cheeks heating up and ducked his head down at the look his father was giving him.

“Really, we have so much work to do with you before you set of to Hogwarts!” James declared suddenly, a happy smile on his face, his eyes sparkling in a way that told of a new prank of his. “My son cannot simply be caught so easily when he plays a prank! We need you to lie better, especially when a Professor asks about your whereabouts when it comes to playing pranks. We can’t forget that you are a son of Marauder!”

“S- Sorry, dad!” the boy give a sheepish smile, his cheeks still firmly red from being caught so easily. “Hey, dad, guess what?”

James was amused at how easily his son was changing the topic, horribly at that, and decided to play along. He knew already why the boy was so giddy; he had been the same when he had gotten his Hogwarts’ letter on his eleventh birthday all those years ago.

“Today’s your eleventh birthday?” he tried, a twinkle lighting up his hazel eyes.

“NO! Wait, YES! BUT that’s not it!” the boy whined out, clutching a white envelope tightly to his chest. “Try again!”

“Mhmm, let me think...”

“Come on, dad, it is easy!” the boy seemed to be vibrating with giddiness if the way he was trembling was anything to go by.

“I have no idea what it could possibly be,” James said, with a fond roll of his eyes. “Why don’t you help your old man out here, mhm?”

“MY HOGWARTS’ LETTER CAME!” the boy all but screamed out, waving the white envelope around like it was that obvious to know about.

James chuckled at that, clearly amused at his son’s antiques. “Eh, is that so? Now, what does it say, then?”

_**~ Time skip, first year in Hogwarts, common room of Gryffindor...** _

Charlie was staring hard at one of his best friends, a red haired boy by the name of Ronald, “ _Call me Ron!_ ”, Weasley. His other best friend, a bushy and brown haired girl who goes by the name of Hermione Granger was staring worriedly between the two boys in front of her. It wouldn’t be the first time in their school year that those two would be fighting with each other. ` _What is it with boys and always going around and fighting with each other?_ ´ the young girl asked herself, while making sure that the two did not start a fist fight with each other. It wouldn’t be the first time those two had started one. Of course, those two were the best of friends and thick as thieves but sometimes Hermione really doubted it, especially when those two fought with each other.

It was never a good sight to behold when those two got hostile with each other. It had gotten Ron and Charlie in many detentions because of their stupid fights. It was either which Quidditch team was the best one out there or who the better chess player between the two was. If Hermione was being honest with herself, Ron was the best chess player she had ever seen. The girl was sure that Ron could have been easily a professional in the Muggle world with the way he was playing the game. Charlie, while he was good at thinking on his feet, was a horrible chess player. Hermione winced when she heard a loud yell coming from the boys.

“Oh boy, here we go again,” she muttered to herself.

“I am telling you,” Charlie snapped at his red haired friend, “it will happen tonight! We have to stop Snape before he gets his hands on the stone!”

Ron gave a snort at that, “Blimey, mate! Listen to yourself! Do you really think that the greasy git will do it tonight of all nights? The bastard wouldn’t be so stupid as to do it while Professor Dumbledore is around; you know how Hermione is when it comes to facts like that. She’s always right.”

“Language, Ronald!” Hermione could hear herself shriek, it had become a habit for her since she had started hanging out with the two boys. “It’s Professor Snape and don’t you dare pull me into this silly fight between the two of you!”

“So what?” Charlie snarled out, ignoring Hermione and Ron’s comments. “Do you guys really think it matters to Voldemort whoever wins the House cup? That he will stop his attacks when Gryffindor wins the house cup again? If you guys haven’t forgotten, Professor McGonagall just told us that Professor Dumbledore has been called out of the school!”

Ron and Hermione traded glances with each other; somehow they’ve gotten the feeling like they had started something wrong there. It’s going to be a something which will be changing their whole school years that were still to come.

“We need to do something! I doubt Voldemort will ever give up when Gryffindor wins the Quidditch cup!” Charlie really seemed to get started there if the look on his face was anything to go by with.

To think that it had all started with the giant three headed dog they had found one night which belonged to Hagrid of all people. If one asked Hermione, she had her fill of adventures the moment she had lived through the troll attack on Halloween. Yet, if one were to asked Ron and Charlie, they would tell you that this was just the start of finding adventures and having the time of their live while being in Hogwarts. That was proven true, the moment that Charlie had seen the dragon egg in the caldron that Hagrid had been having over his fire, trying to hatch it, and Ron being bitten by the freshly hatched dragon hatchling.

In the end, it had been Hermione, who had grumbled all the way and told the boys she told them so, and Charlie that had smuggled the dragon baby out while Hagrid was having a break down. It was for the best of the little dragon, all of them knew it. So, with a heavy heart, Hagrid had said good-bye and the two first years were carrying a heavy baby dragon up to the astronomy tower to wait for one of Ron’s brothers, Charlie Weasely. Of course, the smuggling had been way too easy for the two when they had made their way up and down again. So yes, something had to go wrong and it did go wrong. On their way down, they had overheard Malfoy ratting them out to their head of house while another teacher had found them because they had forgotten the invisible cloak, a present from James to his son, up on the tower.

It had ended up with a detention for the three children with a heavy loss of points. The detention had been something that should have never happened in the school but it had. Being out late at night in the Forbidden Forrest, which was the greatest taboo that a student could have broken, yet it wasn’t a student that broke the rule but a teacher. A teacher that normally always stuck to the rules and was very strict in them; their own head of house had been the one to approve of this detention. Charlie being Charlie, the trouble magnet that he was known for, had gotten himself a meeting with Voldemort in the forest. Not that Charlie had known it to that time.

Let’s just say, after James had heard of the detention and why it had happened and just what happened in it. The whole staff of Hogwarts had been sent off to Madame Pomfrey because they had a ringing in their ears for weeks. If one thought that Lily had been loud when she was angry, she had nothing on to James when he started.

“-eed to go down there tonight!” yet again, Ron and Hermione traded glances witch each other.

“Alright, we go with you!”

“Just... stop saying those things,” Hermione knew when she had lost a case; this was one of those cases. “When... when do you want us to go down there?”

“After curfew, when the teachers aren’t patrolling anymore.”

_**~ Time skip, second year in Hogwarts, Chamber of Secrets...** _

Charlie was slowly making his way through the long and dark tunnel. He was worried for Ron who he had to leave behind with the idiot Lockhart. The man seemed to have lost his memories because a spell had backfired on him. ` _I am so happy that Ron hadn’t gone and got his wand fixed like Hermione had always nagged him to do so!_ ´ the boy thought while closing his eyes at every sound he heard. One could never be too sure if they knew that a giant snake, a bloody basilisk, was living down here, coming and going like it pleases. Charlie didn’t want to be killed by accidently looking into that beast’s eyes or having it suddenly appear in front of him and glare down at him.

` _Yes, better keep my eyes closed and pray for the best,_ ´ it was days like these that had Charlie cursing his curiosity to hell and back. Why did he always have to go in search for adventures? Why hadn’t he listened to his friend Hermione more? Then again, he was pretty sure he would have gone and tried to find the heir of Slytherin anyways, especially after Hermione had been out in the library and it had happened.

“I just hope Dad never hears of this,” the young boy said aloud with a wince, remembering what happened in his first year when his father heard of his face off with Voldemort. “Yea, better keep this one here a secret!”

While the boy was talking to himself, he had kept walking and had now reached the end of the tunnel. At least, it looked like the end of the tunnel and as luck wanted it, the giant doors that would have normally kept the end of the tunnel sealed shut were wide open.

“Just like with the sink in the bathroom,” the boy murmured to himself. “How strange... Shouldn’t this heir be more cautious than this and not leave the entrances open like this?”

Whatever it was, it gave Charlie an uneasy feeling. Yet, the boy kept on walking; he just couldn’t leave Ron’s sister here alone with whoever this heir was. ` _If I can save her, then I will do it!_ ´ the hazel eyed boy thought with determination.

To think that the year had started normally out if one ignored the fact that Charlie had been followed, more like stalked, by a crazy house-elf by the name of Dobby. Charlie had first just written that one of as a crazy prank by his father, like his father always liked to do when he thought he could get away with it. Yet, as it had turned it out it was no prank at all from his father as the year progressed in Hogwarts. That hadn’t been all though, in the very first Quidditch match of the school year, a rough Bludger had followed him and after he had gotten the snitch, outwitting Malfoy yet again, his arm broke as the very fast and hard ball made contact with his arm.

Of course, like any normal student, he would have gone off to see Madame Pomfrey but that idiot Lockhart had gotten to him first. The supposed Professor had vanished all of his bones in his arms which had ended up with Charlie head butting him hard on the nose, breaking it and making the man bleed. When his father had heard of what had happened, in a letter of course, the man had send his son a basket filled with get well pranks for his son to play on the blond Professor. Charlie really did love his father for this and showed it to him with doing all of those pranks after he was better and sending his father the pictures of them. This wasn’t all that had happened in his year, though. He had gained a fan boy which had Ron laughing his ass off at him while Hermione just gave him a pitying look. They hadn’t been a real help for him, just like his Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor was too caught up with himself to teach the course rightfully.

It had ended up with Charlie asking their Charms Professor if he could help them. He knew from his father that Professor Flitwick had once been a great dueller and a champion to boot, too! His choice of asking this Professor was obvious. After their Charms Professor had a talk with Headmaster Dumbledore, it was approved of them starting a duelling club to catch up to the missing material that was supposed to be taught to them. For the first few weeks, everything had gone smoothly, until Lockhart had found out and butted in. Everything went downhill, then.

As funny as it had been with Lockhart getting his ass handed to him, Charlie had not found it funny when Malfoy had gone ahead and summoned a snake which had ended up biting Charlie because h3 had no idea what to do. Malfoy had gotten a detention and a lecture from Professor Flitwick who had asked him what he had been thinking when he used that spell around his classmates. Hadn’t he known the dangers of the spell? What would have happened if no teacher had been around to make sure that nothing worse than a bite happened? What if he had summoned a poisonous snake instead of a non-poisonous one?

Charlie had been really happy, then. His joy had been short livened though, when the petrifying of the students started on Halloween. It was then, that everything changed for the three of them, the talking of the Chamber of Secrets being opened, the red writing on the walls, the spiders fleeing the school, the giant spider in the forest, Hagrid being arrested, Lockhart being more of an idiot than usual. It all was toped of when they had brewed the Polyjuice potion to sneak into the Slytherin common room to hear what Malfoy had to say about all of this Heir of Slytherin business. He was the loudest to approve of the happenings after all.

In the end, it had brought nothing new up for them and then Hermione had been petrified which had ended up with Ron’s little sister, Ginny, being taken shortly after.

It had led up to all of this, forcing Lockhart to come down with them here when Charlie had the brilliant idea to ask Myrtle how she died, only to find half of the sink missing. If that was not asking for trouble and adventure, Charlie didn’t know what it was then.

“Here goes nothing...”

_**~ Time skip, third year in Hogwarts, Great Hall...** _

Charlie let out a sigh; this year had been terrible boring for him. Nothing had really happened in the whole year. Of course, the only positive thing had happened in the year was that his Uncle Mooney had come to teach this year Defence Against the Dark Arts. He had been quite happy when he heard that they would be getting a real teacher this year around. The boy sighed again; this year had been a normal and boring year. Nothing had happened, nothing at all! No teachers plotting against their students, no student trying anything. Of course, the Weasely twins still went around pulling their pranks but it wasn’t the same.

The only thing that had been of interest was that his Uncle Mooney had taught him the Patronus Charm. Of course, Charlie could remember when it had come to his election of classes for this year’s classes. His father had objected to him taking Divination, telling him that it was a load bout of rubbish and if he really wanted to study this subject, then he could always go to a real seer. Instead, his father had told him to take Runes, Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy. Charlie had grumbled at the choices that his father had wanted for him to take. The moment that his father had told him what to take, if Charlie really wanted to become an Auror, then it was better that he took those classes.

James had told his son it was better for him this way and that he was speaking from experiences in this one. Divination might be an easy class, like Charlie had argued to his father but the others were of most importance for him. If he was really going to be an Auror than it was the most important for him to know his magically creatures and what spells must be used to tame them. Because as an Auror you would not always be hunting down Dark Wizards, the occasional dark creature was to be hunted too. Also the Runes and Arithmancy would help him when it comes to make sure that no dark spells could give more seriously harm to him than it normally would

It did not always help one but it was better for an Auror to know which runes did what and with Arithamny you could break them apart and tear them more easily down. The same was said about wards when Charlie tried yet again to argue against his schedule. That was that when it had come to his schedule.

So yes, the school year had been mostly boring to the young teenage boy. The only thing that had been a real challenge for him had been his classes and how Hermione had approved of his choices. While Ron had been bemoaning the fact that his best mate was following into Hermione’s footsteps. Charlie had just given his friend a weak smile and told him that his father had wanted it for him. That his father had been claiming that it would help him in his carrier choice in the long run. Ron had huffed and puffed but accepted his friend’s excuses, even if Ron had taken his time to do so.

It was also in this year that Charlie was seriously debating to quit the Quidditch team because of the entire work load that he had been given through all of his classes. It had been hard with all the training and his homework. Yes, he had Hermione to help him organize his private schedule for this, yet there was still not really any free time that he would be having with his friends, then. Even Hermione, who had taken all election courses, had more free time than he had and she had the most homework between the three of them to do. It was unfair, Charlie decided then and there. Yes, he loved Quidditch and he knew that his father would be sad if he should quit the team but he wanted to have some free time and hang out with his friends, too.

Also, his father’s friends had been on the team, too. So, it had been easy for his Uncles to hang out with his father. His friends weren’t on the team.

“Next year, I won’t be on the team anymore,” Charlie suddenly announced to his friends.

“Bu- But mate!” Ron sputtered out, dropping his fork full with food; it hit his plate and sent food flying in Hermione’s direction. “You love the game and your father had been so proud of you when you became the youngest seeker in your first year.”

“As much as I like to go against Ron’s claims,” Hermione started, wiping the food that had splatter from Ron’s fork into her face away, “why do you suddenly want to quit? Is it because of what you had been telling me?”

Grimacing, Charlie nodded, “Yes! Guys, I love the game, I really do! But I have no free time to hang out with you anymore! Quidditch takes all of that time up which I want to hang out with you... I mean, I want to be a kid, too!”

Hermione traded glances with Ron again. That had been bothering their friend lately? Was it because of that as to why he had been so silent lately?

“Mate,” Ron tried to find the right words, “do you really want that? It wouldn’t bother us, you know? As much as I would really like to see Slytherin suffer more because of their losing to us, if you really want to...”

Hermione was astounded at how mature Ron just sounded there. ` _Well, he does have his moments of being mature, too doesn’t he?_ ´ she thought with a small smile.

“Thanks, Ron,” Charlie had a smile on his face. “I didn’t know you could be this mature for once too!”

“OI!”

The three just laughed at that.

_**~ Time skip, fourth year in Hogwarts, Great Hall...** _

Charlie together with Hermione and Ron were staring at the blue burning cup. The whole school, together with the two other foreign schools had come together in the Great Hall. They had come together because this year around the Ministry had allowed the happenings of the Triwizard-Tournament again. Charlie and Ron had been all for it while Hermione had just rolled her eyes and muttered fondly ` _Boys_ ´ with a smile on her face. When it had been first announced that the tournament was happening at Hogwarts, Charlie and Ron had been cheering when they had heard it, and that everyone was allowed to partake, again more cheering from every male in the school, if they were seventeen or older, that was when the booing came, Ron and Charlie being the loudest.

Hermione had just sighed at her two boys and was seriously asking herself as to why she was still friends with those two. The only thing that the two had in their heads was having an adventure or being lazy when they could. Hermione was disapproving of this, yet Charlie wasn’t as worse as Ron. Ron, having taken the lesser election courses as Charlie and her, had more free time on his hands and was always trying to rope Charlie into being lazy with him or play chess with him. Hermione always rolled her eyes at that but was secretly proud of Charlie when the boy said he couldn’t and he had his homework that he needed to do first.

What had Hermione and Ron the most surprised when the school year started was the fact that Charlie had really quit the Quidditch team. Of course, the team hadn’t taken to it as well as one had hoped and had tried to get Charlie to rejoin them. Charlie had been firm in his decision, though. He always declined it and said he had to first think of his school work and he wanted to have some free time, too, and he had his want of being a child, too. He wanted some time alone with himself and his friends and not always be away. James, surprisingly enough, had actually understood his son and even supported his decision.

“You two are horrible,” Hermione suddenly hissed at her two friends who were making faces at Malfoy. “Why am I friends with you again?”

“Oh come on, Hermione!” Ron whined, flipping Malfoy off. “It’s fun! ‘Sides it is the only thing that keeps us entertained and out of trouble!”

“You heard him,” Charlie snickered when he saw the face that Malfoy made. “Would you rather have us running off and into trouble?”

“Heaven’s no!” Hermione nearly shrieked out, a horrified expression on her face when she saw their mischievous expressions. “I’d rather have you two be good for once!”

“You mean like we had been at the Quidditch match?” a wicked gleam was in Charlie’s eyes.

“You mean when you two had gone off with the twins to play pranks on the Minister?” Hermione shoot back, she was surprised that no one had turned to them yet. They weren’t really being silent in their conversation. “I am surprised that the Aurors haven’t noticed your doings!”

“Eh, they had!” Ron said, also a wicked gleam in his eyes. “But they had even encouraged us to do more pranks.”

Hermione sputtered at that, “You cannot be serious!”

“Oh, he is very serious about this!” Charlie was nodding to his friend’s words. “That had me really surprised, too!”

Before Hermione could open her mouth and berate her two friends more, a sudden silence went around the whole hall. Professor Dumbledore had taken a position in front of the blue burning cup; it was like magic that the moment that the Headmaster had taken his position and everyone knew that they had to be silent. Charlie and Ron’s eyes were glued to the Headmaster, waiting for him to finally speak up and say the words that everyone was dying to hear. Everyone was actually like this, waiting for the Headmaster to finally speak and do something, anything to make the tension go away.

“Now, we all know why we are here today,” the aged Headmaster spoke up, a twinkle was in his eyes. “We are all here to draw for the Triwizard-Tournament the champions out!”

Polite applause went around the schools, while some were cheering loudly at that.

“I know, I know!” Professor Dumbledore said with a little laugh, taking his wand out and waving it, dimming the lights in the Great Hall. “Now... Let us start with the first champion!”

The moment that the lights began to dim down, the blue burning cup began to heat up. The flames dancing along on it began to dim down only for them to fire up a few seconds later. This happened a few more times before suddenly a light singed paper was thrown out of the cup and flying into the waiting hand of one Albus Dumbledore.

“And the champion from Durmstrang is,” Headmaster Dumbledore began in a loud voice, his eyes reading the name written on the paper,” VIKTOR KURM!”

There was a loud uproar of applause coming from the students of Durmstrang. Their whistling and cheering was so loud that the windows in the Great Hall were shaking. All the while, one Viktor Krum had stood up from his place among his peers and made his way slowly to the front where his Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, showed him the way to a room where the champions waited.

“Now, now,” Dumbledore said with a smile on his face, “we still have two more champions to go!”

The students became silent again the moment that Krum had vanished behind the doors of the room and the cup began its strange dance of flames yet again. Another singed paper flew out of it, only to be caught by the Headmaster yet again.

“The champion for Beauxbatons is,” Professor Dumbledore said in a loud voice, his eyes ghosting over the paper again, “FLEUR DELACOUR!”

The girls from the all girls’ school were more polite in their cheering. There were no calls or loud voices, just a polite applause for one of their own. Delacour, just like Krum, made her way to the front where her Headmistress, Madame Olympe Maxime, waited for her to lead her to the side room for the champions.

“Now, it is Hogwarts turn!” Charlie said in an excited voice, not really caring as to whom the champions were for the other schools. “Who do you think it will be?”

“No idea, mate,” Ron was just as excited, his eyes trained on the cup like everyone’s eyes were. “I just hope it is not a Slytherin!”

Hermione just kept her silence, her eyes trained on their Headmaster who had a paper in his hand yet again.

“Last but not least, the champion for Hogwarts is,” again, the aged man let his eyes roam over the name on the paper and a smile came to his face, “CEDRIC DIGGORY!”

The uproar of loud voices, cheers and congratulations went around the room when the Huffelpuff made his way up to the front to his headmaster. It was even louder than the one that Drumstrang had started. His Professor was waiting for him to lead him to the room. The moment that the last champion had vanished behind the doors, Headmaster Dumbledore turned the lights up again and was about to speak to his students and guests again but the cup made its strange dance of flames yet again and another paper flew out. The wizened old man caught the paper perplexed in his hands, something like this had never happened before.

He read what was written on the paper, his face paled before an enraged expression took its place on his face. The Great Hall was deathly silent; the students of Hogwarts had never seen such an expression on their Professor, their kind Headmaster’s face before. They hadn’t thought that their Headmaster couldn’t be anything but nice and kind. It would seem that they had been proven wrong just now. The expression was just wrong on that wizened old man’s face. It didn’t feel right.

The Drumstrang and Beauxbatons’ students began to whisper to each other when they saw the expression and the shocked faces of the Hogwarts’ students. What was going on?

“What is the meaning of this?” the way the Headmaster spoke made the students shiver, something in his tone spoke of something forbidden. “Who has thought to play such a crude prank?”

When no one answered, the headmaster spoke up again.

“Who has thought it great idea to write ‘ _Rose-Lynn Potter_ ’ on this paper and throw it in the Goblet of Fire?”

The moment he had spoken the name, all eyes turned to one Charlie Potter who had gone wide eyed at hearing the name. His friends gave each other nervous glances while placing their hands on their friend’s shoulder, giving him silently their support.

Those two knew what that name meant to their friend, how could they not? Charlie’s father had finally after years of begging from his son, told his son finally why he was always so sad when he was staring at the photo of a woman with a black haired babe in her arms. It was his twin sister, Rose-Lynn Potter, who had gone missing when James had done something horribly stupid. Of course, everyone knew of the missing Potter child, the girl that seemed to have been kidnapped and had yet to be found again. Many had thought she was dead while James Potter was still in the firm belief that his only daughter was still alive.

Charlie had been hurt at first when he heard from his father what he had done to his baby sister and how she had gone missing. The young teenager hadn’t spoken to his father for a month when he had been finally told about her and just why his father had given her away. He hadn’t understood his father’s reasoning back then, he still didn’t. James hadn’t really known how to deal with his son withdrawing from him like this. It was a tough month for both of them.

Before anyone could open their mouth or anything other could be said there was a loud bang going through the room and the cup shattered. Gasps went around the room when a strange blue mist began to fill the space where the cup once had been. The loud bang had brought the three champions along with their Headmasters and Professor back to the Great Hall.

What then took place had many in wonder.

“Sandersonia, Marigold!” they could hear a woman speak, her voice was guarded and sounded cold.

“We are alright, Onee-sama!” they could hear two other voices mix with each other to answer to the first one, they both sounded female.

The hall was still silent, wands trained at the mist that was beginning to clear. What the people got see when the mist had cleared was something different than they had first expected. There were three women, two of them being very tall. One of them was a green haired woman, wearing a bikini with a white cloak, on one of her legs a green stocking and green boots with a little heel were tapping the ground. Her green hair had locks in them while her forked tongue was out of her mouth and she was staring with a calculating gaze around herself. The other woman was just as tall as the green haired one, yet she had red, more of an orange-fire coloured haired. Where the green haired one was skinny the orange haired one was more along the signs of being chubby and wearing the same outfit as the green haired one, a frown was on her face.

If they didn’t know it any better, they would have thought those two were giants. Yet, the one that got the most shocking reaction from the students and staff alike was the third woman. She was tall, not as much as the women that stood behind her but tall enough to make them stare. The woman had straight black hair, reaching her butt and startling green eyes. Her body was that of a goddess, if you were to ask the males. Firmly shaped and build in a way that told you that she was a good fighter. She was wearing a red a skirt that opened at the front a little with a slit going to her knees, her top was of the same colour and had a low cut. A strange sign was found on the skirt and top, it looked like a circle with a face and snakes coming from the circle around it. It looked like a horrible parody of a sun.

She just like the green haired woman was looking with a calculating gaze around herself before she spoke up. What held the most attention though, was the giant red and white snake that was wrapped around the woman. The most curious thing of that snake was the fact that it was wearing a skull as a helmet. No one had really noticed how one Albus Dumbledore had gone deathly pale at the sight of the woman in front of him ` _T-This cannot be!_ ´

“You, man with the greasy hair,” the way the woman’s voice sounded, it spoke of authority and power. “On which part of the Grandline are we here?”

“G-Grandline?” Serverus Snape was too shocked to react with the way the woman had called him; he too could see just who that woman was.


	11. Book 2 - Chapter 2 Enter Shichibukai to-be, Boa Hancock

 

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 2** _

_** Chapter 2 ** _   
_** Enter Shichibukai to-be, Boa Hancock ** _

 

** _~ Time skip, unknown amount of time, somewhere on the Grandline..._ **

One Boa Hancock was staring blankly at the sight in front of her. Her little sisters were behind her and trying their best to not break into laughter at the happenings in front of them. It was really hard for them. Boa, after her coronation to Empress of Amazon Lily, was out on the sea again together with the Kuja Pirates. It wasn’t that which had Sandersonia and Marigold nearly in a laughing fit; it was more the fact that the marines had tried to impress their older sister and had failed horribly at that. Boa didn’t find it as funny as her little sisters did. She really did not see the beauty in the horrible statue made out of men underwear, unwashed ones at that. The better question was what the hell was the statue supposed to be?

She could feel her left eye beginning to twitch while the love sick puppies were trying to still get her attention onto them. ` _If I had known something like this happens when I do my act, then I wouldn’t have done it!_ ´ Boa thought, a grimace on her face with the way those creatures were acting towards her. It was really no secret to anyone that knew Boa Hancock that she loathed the entire male race out there. That especially meant the Marines and Tenryuubito. ` _If I could, I would rot them all out,_ ´ she thought while readying herself to kick the Marines into the sea behind them.

“Disgusting!” she snarled out before she jumped into the middle of the Marines and send them flying with a series of kicks and punches. “You filthy, disgusting, pathetic excuses of human beings!”

“Ouch,” Marigold muttered, and winced when she saw them flying into the sea behind them. “Onee-sama is really not happy with them. We warned them!”

“Bah! Th- They had it coming,” Sandersonia chocked out before breaking into laughter. “Tehehe... Their faces, d- did you see them? P-Priceless those looks!”

Marigold shook her head at Sandersonia while watching with a worried expression how her older sister disposed of the Marines. She was getting the feeling that this was not the smartest thing to do right now. ` _I am getting a bad feeling about this all... Why?_ ´

“I don’t really think that it is this wise of Onee-sama to go around and punch Marines like that,” Marigold sounded worried. “What if they relate to this?”

Sandersonia, having finally calmed down, just scoffed at her sister’s words, “That’s what Onee-sama is counting on. Those horrible excuses of the human race had it coming! They are the bastards that go and protect those _people_ and don’t stop the slave trading.”

Marigold didn’t need to ask as to whom Sandersonia was referring to with ‘ _people_ ’ in such a hate filled voice. She would never forget what had happened all those years ago, not like any of her sisters could either. She closed her eyes at the painful memories came back to her and Sandersonia gave her sister a worried look. It didn’t help that they would have those people’s sign forever burned into their flesh on their backs.

“Disgusting fools!” Boa shrieked out, kicking another Marine into the sea. “How dare you show such a disgraceful and filthy thing in my presence?”

Marigold and Sandersonia sweat dropped when they saw how their older sister was pointing at the few left Marines and leaning herself so far back that she was nearly doing a perfect bridge.

“S- She is looking so far down on them,” the green haired woman said. “I- I thought she would have stopped doing that!”

“L- Look at Boa-sama!” one of the brave ones said, hearts in his eyes. “She is so awesome, like a goddess!”

“HAI!”

Marigold let out a wary sigh and shook her head. Why was it that their sister got them stuck in such weird situations when they were out on the sea? Sandersonia, on the other hand, was trying her hardest not burst into laughter again when she saw the weird dance the men were doing right now. She had her hands firmly clamped down on her mouth while her body was trembling in silent laughter. Marigold gave her sister a look before turning her attention back to the scene that was playing out in front of them. ` _I am now wishing I stayed on the ship..._ ´

“YOU FREAKS OF NATURE!”

It was with that cry which let Boa charge at the few men left. One could really feel her rage rolling off her body while the furry was clearly seen in those ice cold green eyes. A furry of kicks and punches was rained down on the men while they were slowly turning to stone and Boa made sure to always hit the stone parts of those fools. As if she would let those creatures make it out intact from this fight. They had dared to put their underwear, their filthy underwear at that, to such an open display for her to see. Did those idiots really think that she would like to see something like this?

It was making Boa nauseas to just think about even looking in that thing’s direction. She held a grimace back when she kicked one of the men in the face and sent him flying. His face was slowly being taken over by stone; a love struck expression was on his face. It surprised Boa just how much power her Akuma no Mi had to make everyone love her just like that and even keep those feelings up when she rejected them in the cruellest of ways that she could think of. Those were many ways to reject them; Boa did have a lot of time thinking of them while she had been forced to serve those bastards.

While Boa was busy in making sure that those things were never going to come near her again, Marigold and Sandersonia were making sure that no one with a camera was around them. They knew just how the Marines kept their tabs on pirates and how they could get the pictures taken of pirates that might be a threat to them. They had seen it happen once while they had been aboard the Kuja Pirates’ ship once. It had them all surprised how one of their own could have gotten a bounty when they had been sure that no one was around to that time, save for those Marines. Heck, it was even more surprising that they had a picture of the woman on their ship to boot, too!

Yet, what the two women didn’t know about was the fact that the moment that they had first stepped a foot on the ship, the captain of the ship had been busy making a call with the Marine Headquarters. So, while the fight and the embarrassing confessions of the men had been happening, the whole Headquarters had heard and seen them. They had not been happy when they heard and seen just what was going on at the other side.

“Marigold, Sandersonia!” Boa, having finally made sure that there was no male left on the ship, turned to her sisters. “Go and look for anything valuable on this ship and make sure that there is not one piece of it left after you are finished!”

“Hai, Onee-sama!” the two chorused.

_**~ Meanwhile in the Headquarters of the Marines...** _

Sengoku was staring hard down at the Den-Den-Mushi in front of him, said snail was beginning to sweat from the look it was given. He had just been given a report by the Marines that he had send out a few weeks ago to find out more about Amazon Lily and just as to why the Kuja Pirates had been so silent lately. He had been about to ask the leading captain of the mission as to what he had found out when he heard the men, fully grown marines and adult males at that, squeal like five year old girls that had gotten their most wished present for their birthday. So yes, Sengoku was currently not a very happy Fleet-Admiral right now, he was rather furious as to what he had just witnessed happening on the ship.

It did not matter to him as to how beautiful or graceful or goddess-like the woman looked and sounded like, as he heard from his men yelling like that, that was no excuse for his men to behave like some love sick puppies. They brought shame and embarrassment to the Marines with the way they were currently behaving. It didn’t really help Sengoku any matter that his three Admirals and the Shichibukai had been, still are, present for this meeting. ` _Those fools! When I get my hands on them...!_ ´

Now, one might think that it would not be that bad, right? Well, it did get worse, actually. Sengoku would have been able to live with this shame had it been just a normal call via the Den-Den-Mushi but it wasn’t. It was a video report which meant that everyone in that meeting had actually seen what had happened on the Marine vessel and just how easily his men had been beaten by a lone woman. ` _I can never show my face around here again. I should have just sent one of the Admirals to do the job! I will never be able to show my face in the public anymore should they hear of this._ ´

“Fufufufufu~! Isn’t that interesting?” a blond with sunglasses said, wearing a pink jacket that was made out of pink feathers. “Your Marines are really in need of some discipline!”

“Mhm, the meeting has just gotten more interesting,” a man with golden eyes like a hawk said, half of his face hidden by his hat. “Shame, I had hoped to have a good nap here.”

“Arara... This is the woman you had wanted to get rid of, Fleet-Admiral?” Aokiji asked, only one eye visible due to his sleeping mask. “The one you have given a bounty of 80000000 Beli?”

“Trash like her should have been taken care before they can even get a bounty to begin with,” Akainu growled out, his eyes fixed at the picture of one Boa Hancock who was trashing their soldiers around like it were nothing to her. “You should have given me this mission to take care off. There would have been nothing left of this woman and the pirates that are with her.”

Sengoku just gave Akainu a flat stare; he already knew the way the young man was thinking and if he was honest with himself. He was not happy with the way that Akainu was portraying his way of justice. While he did agree that one should show no mercy when it was concerning pirates that didn’t mean that innocent people had be to dragged into this too and be punished like the pirate scum. Even Sengoku knew when enough was enough, certainly Akainu had yet to find his boundaries when it comes to that with the way he was executing pirates left and right. Not to forget, the innocent people he was dragging into this too that had been unfortunately at the wrong place at the wrong time or had witnessed the happenings.

It was because of these kind of things that Sengoku knew that he could never trust Akainu with such delicate missions where they needed their targets rather alive than dead. The man didn’t know when to stop when it came to the name of justice. ` _He is like a rebelling teenager that needs to get his way of thinking through! He needs to learn to control himself and hold back on missions. We can’t always think of excuses for him when he gets too wild,_ ´ the black haired man thought, giving Akainu a look. Said person was too busy with watching what was happening on the screen than noticing the look he was given by his superior.

Why was it always him that had to deal with such childish and, not to forget to mention, weird subordinates? Whatever he had done wrong in a past live, it was now paying him back. He felt like a father that was dealing with rebelling, just puberty hitting, teenagers. Teenagers that had no control of their body, much less their own brain and let their freshly awakened hormones do the thinking for them. ` _I am too old for those kinds of things to happen to me. I’d thought Garp was a hassle to deal with but this? I rather prefer him over this chaos!_ ´ Sengoku mused to himself and then wanted to hit himself. ` _What am I thinking? Preferring Garp over them! That man is even worse!_ ´

While Sengoku was trying to think of ways to get his meeting back under control, the people that were with him were concentrating on the happenings aboard that Marine vessel. It would seem that the other ship that had been sent out to help on this mission had finally arrived to help out. It was about time, too.

“Fufufu~! My, my, I haven’t had such fun in a long time!” the walking, talking flamingo spoke in a giddy voice, his sunglasses glinting. “Will those soldiers be just like their comrades, I wonder!”

“That does not matter,” the hawk eyed man spoke, his eyes trained on the woman that was barking out orders. “I would rather like to know just where this woman’s strength lies in and what else she can do. Who cares about some Marines that cannot even keep up with a woman?”

“Ah, and I could be taking my nap already,” Aokiji was more talking to himself than anyone in the room. “What a boring meeting...”

“You are an Admiral!” Akainu snarled out, not liking the way Aokiji was behaving right now. “Act like it already!”

“Oho! Would you look at that?” Kizaru was speaking up for the first time, having rather been busy with cleaning his glasses than listening to their bickering, and gave a low whistle. “She has some nice legs right there~!”

Sengoku could already feel a twitch developing in his right eye. ` _I should have stayed in bed..._ ´

_**~ Meanwhile back with Boa on the Marine vessel...** _

Boa was standing with crossed arms on the railing of the vessel and looking with contempt at the approaching ship. She could see the flag of the Marines blowing in the wind and was trying her hardest to not just jump over there and sink the ship herself. It would do her no good to leave her crew back here alone, she didn’t really know if there was another ship near from the Marines or not. It was better to be safe than sorry. ` _Then again, I have the perfect way of taking care of them, don’t I?_ ´ she thought with a devious smirk that vanished as soon as she was able to make out the people on board of the approaching ship.

Marigold and Sandersonia stopped their raiding of the ship when they felt a shiver going down their spine. They didn’t really know what was going to happen next but they knew a few things for sure. Their older sister was a part of it and it would be ending in a way that would make them question their sanity. Either their own or Boa’s sanity, they weren’t really sure which one it would be. So, hoping to not regret their next doings, they turned around to keep an eye on Boa only to nearly fall over. Standing on the railing was their sister who was striking the cutest pose they had ever seen. A forced blush on her cheeks, a pout on her lips and her eyes wide and innocent, she was giving the look the men on the deck of the other ship. ` _A- Are they whistling?_ ´

Marigold didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at her sister’s doings while Sandersonia was staring shell shocked at the scene playing out in front of them. The other Kuja Pirates who had been busy with the raiding were also staring with hearts in their eyes at their leader. Boa was just too cute for them to have any other reaction.

“Boa-sama~, she is so cute!” one of them squealed out.

“Oh my~, such beauty can only be seen in our Empress!”

“Those Marines don’t deserve it to have her seen like this!”

“Sandersonia?” Marigold was slowly backing away from the crew, her eyes trained on them.

“Yes, Marigold?” Sandersonia was doing the same, ready to flee should the need arise.

“I- I think that we should slowly leave and make sure that no one here sees us,” she continued seriously. “I have a bad feeling about this...”

“A- Aa...”

“HOW DARE YOU LOOK AT ME LIKE THIS?” they heard Boa shriek before it was followed by a loud squeal of men being kicked where the sun doesn’t shine. “I WILL SHOW YOU TO NOT MESS WITH ME!”

What followed then could only be described as a slaughter, of the Marines that is. Before Marigold or Sandersonia even had the chance to calm their sister down, because they were sure that Boa hadn’t intended to sink two ships of the Marines, Boa was already onboard of the other ship and wrecking chaos. They winced when they heard a loud crack, it sounded like bones breaking to them, which was followed by loud slapping noises and very high, girlish squeals and screams. They were sure that none of them were coming from their sister, very sure.

“SLAVE ARROW!”

The two were staring with wide eyes at the heart that Boa had created with a kiss and was now pulling it back like a bow, before letting go of it and letting arrows, in the shape little hearts, fly at the marines. It was kind of bizarre for them to see something like this happening when Boa used her powers.

“Well,” Sandersonia was really at a loss for words there. “That’s a new one...”

Marigold gave her green haired sister a look before shaking her head and turning her attention back to the crew. As much fun as it was to watch Boa going berserker like this, they still needed to get their asses out of this dangerous zone. ` _And that fast! I wouldn’t be surprised if they somehow managed it to call for back up... Even if they don’t seem to have a brain right now,_ ´ the orange haired Amazon thought. So, without waiting for her sister, she took over. It was time that they took their leave.

“ALRIGHT, LADIES!” she bellowed, making sure that she caught all of the women’s attention. “WE NEED TO GET BACK TO THE SHIP BEFORE THEIR BACKUP SHOWS UP! WE HAVE GOTTEN WHAT WE CAME FOR, SO MOVE IT ALREADY!”

“HAI!” came the chorused reply, even if it was a delayed one.

“I MEAN IT!”

It would seem that Marigold had already a good idea as to why that reply was delayed like this. If the way the Amazon women were staring at Boa was anything to go by with. As useful as Boa’s powers were, they were also a hassle to deal with. Especially when it came to tasks like the one they were doing right now, it was a burden for them. Thanks to her Akuma no Mi, Boa could turn anyone into stone that had just a little feeling for her, no matter how much buried it is in one. They would suddenly awaken to such a full blast that the person, or people, had to act them out, if they wanted to or not.

It made for quite the funny moments but for disturbing ones also. The latter was more happening than the former, as sad as it was.

“Alright, let’s haul our asses out of here!”

_**~ Meanwhile back at the Headquarters...** _

Sengoku didn’t know how to deal with the happenings that he had just witnessed, one thing was for sure for him. He was going to have a stern talking to with the whole Marines when he got the chance to do so. It couldn’t possibly be that two of their ships have been so easily taken down by just one person! It didn’t matter to him if that person was Boa Hancock or some nameless poor sod, it shouldn’t have been possible in the first place. They were Marines, damn it! They weren’t supposed to be so easy to take down, especially by pirates!

Nevertheless, it had happened. If the public heard of this, he couldn’t show himself to them anymore. No one of the Marines could. While Sengoku was busy with thinking of ways to save the face of the marines, the people that were attending the meeting had quite a different reaction to this.

“Fufufu, that woman has spunk,” Doflamingo said with a leer, his sunglasses glinting. “She certainly has her way in getting things done, doesn’t she? I wonder...”

“Mhm,” Mihawk seemed to not really care just as to what Doflamingo was trying to really say. He was more concentrated on the fact that the woman took two Marine vessels down. “She is definitive not someone that should be angered without a good reason. It would seem that she had been holding back while kicking your Marines into the sea.”

“She seems to have gained your interest, Hawk-Eyes,” Aokiji said in his lazy drawl. “You seem to be more at ease to talk about her than you usually are in these meetings.”

“Hn, don’t read into things that are not there,” the swordsman said in a warning, not liking where Aokiji was going with this.

“Oho~! Do I sense a love blooming there?” Kizaru said in a singsong, a smirk on his lips. “My, my, Hawk-Eyes, who knew that you had in you at all with the women? Or is it just a certain woman?”

Mihawk was about to relate to that statement but was stopped by his fellow Shichibukai, Doflamingo, with his annoying laughter. It surprised the world’s best and greatest swordsman how Bartholomew Kuma could stand being near the man. The giant man was sitting peacefully next to the pink thing and was reading his bible, it would seem, and he had yet to open his mouth to speak to any of them since arriving. Then again, it was normal for Kuma to keep silent and only speak up when he felt like it or he thought it was needed.

The man wasn’t really known for his talkativeness when it came to those meetings, even Mihawk talked more on those meetings than Kuma did and Mihawk kept mostly to himself and only spoke when he really had to in those meetings. Those were usually a few words if he had to.

“Fufufu~, as much fun as it is to see you gossiping like this,” Doflamingo said, successfully gaining everyone’s attention. “We do have come for a reason here... We are short one member of the Shichibukai and I think I have found the perfect candidate for that position!”

Akainu had been up to this point silent, strangely enough, yet he was willing to speak up when he heard Doflamingo speak. He had already a good idea as to whom the man was about to suggest and if he had any say in this matter then the woman wouldn’t get this invitation. The likes of this woman had no place in the Shichibukai; if Akainu could he would have gotten rid of the whole concept of the Shichibukai a long time ago. He didn’t trust those people that once had been, still are, pirates. The only difference being that they were working for the government when they gave a certain percentage of their looting up to them.

` _Still, once a pirate scum always a pirate scum,_ ´ the magma man thought with a scowl, ` _You can’t trust trash like them, they should all be erased from the face of earth._ ´ The dark look on the Admiral’s face was talking about forbidden and dangerous things with the way he was always glancing at the Shichibukai around him. Aokiji had noted that look and wouldn’t be surprised if the man suddenly jumped over the table to take out the pirates that were around them. It wouldn’t be the first time that Akainu would have tried this and nearly get away with it, too.

As powerful as Akainu was, Aokiji was sometimes asking himself as to why that man was still around and with them. He knew that not every pirate was bad as they were made out to be and if he could, if wouldn’t always act on justice. Then again, when did he ever act in the name of justice? ` _Lazy justice, that’s the way to go,_ ´ the man thought with a yawn, keeping a lazy eye on his fellow Marine.

“You think that she would actually agree?” Kuma spoke up, for the first time since that meeting had started with his eyes still trained on his bible. “I wouldn’t be so sure of this... She did sink two Marine ships just now...”

“Who is to say that she would even let us approach her, you mean?” Kizaru asked his attention still on the screen in front of him. “Eh, she seems a bit short tempered, doesn’t she?”

“Nevertheless, she needs to be dealt with!” Sengoku frowned, thinking the idea over. It did have its merits, didn’t it? “If she becomes a Shichibukai, who is to say she will do as is asked of her? I have enough reports on her that say she is too much of a wild card.”

“Ah, that is the danger with asking pirates to become part of the Shichibukai, isn’t it?” Doflamingo said with a chuckle. “How don’t you know that we haven’t formed an alliance to bring the Marines down? How can you still trust us?”

“I KNEW IT; YOU PIRATE SCUM AREN’T TO BE TRUSTED!” Akainu screamed out when he heard Doflamingo’s words. “YOU ALL SHOULD BE EXECUTED RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE STANDING!”

“Would you look at that? The dog is speaking out of turn again,” Doflamingo said with a sneer, relishing in the fact that he could get a rise out of Akainu with this. “You should really make that leash of your Marine dog shorter, Fleet-Admiral. It wouldn’t do you any good if he speaks like this out of turn in front of his betters like this!”

Sengoku tried his best to hide the grimace at the hidden threat that Doflamingo had just voiced out. As much as he too hated it to work together with pirates, even he knew that the Shichibukai were needed to keep the balance on going on the Grandline and the New World. ` _But does he really have to play this card?_ ´

“What did you just call me, sea scum?” the so-called dog growled out.

“My, my, the mutt is baring his teeth,” no one had missed the hidden amusement in the walking and talking flamingo’s voice when he spoke up. It was hard not to. “You should watch out just where you lose that temper of yours and just as to whom you are directing it at. It will cost you your life if you keep this up, _**Mutt**_.”

“If I were you, Pirate,” the way Akainu spat the word ‘pirate’ out, let it seem like it was venom, it didn’t help that his left arm slowly began to turn into magma. “I would watch what _you_ are saying here, I could easily take you out right here and now. No one would be missing the likes of you!”

“Arara... Sakazuki is at it again,” Aokiji said with a sigh, his right arm slowly being taken over by ice. “You should really learn to control your temper!”

“Keep out of this, you walking Popsicle!” Akainu snarled out, his attention not once wavering from the blond flamingo in front of him. “This is between the scum and me!”

Aokiji could feel a twitch developing in his left eye, “What was that?”

The assembled people were staring in boredom at the scene that was playing out in front of them while Kizaru was trying his hardest to not just laugh at his colleague’s childishness. It had surprised the man in his yellow and striped suit that Akainu had been able to keep his cool for so long. What hadn’t surprised him at all though was the fact that Aokiji was trying to get Akainu to behave again. Those two had always been at each other’s throat for as long as he could remember. It might have something to do with their Akuma no Mi but he doubted that. Even before they had even known what their powers were, those two had been fighting just whose justice was the better one to act out.

Of course, Akainu and Aokiji had never been able to settle their arguments like any normal people. Thus, those two ended up fighting each other when any topic came up to fight over. Every freaking single time, those two would fight each other and use their powers to make their points valid on this matter.

“Ah, Fleet-Admiral,” he began, his eyes on his two fellow Admirals, “I think those two should be doing some cleaning duty again! It might help them to control themselves in those meetings and cool down a bit, wouldn’t you agree?.”

Sengoku gave Kizaru a look, “And have those two destroying half of the base again in a competition to see who can clean better? No thanks... Instead, those two should just cool down for a bit!”

Kizaru just hummed and watched how his superior transformed into a giant and golden Buddha, taking a hold of Aokiji and Akainu. He snorted when he saw the two struggling to get out of the tight grip of Sengoku, only for them to be thrown out of the nearest window. It wasn’t like those two would actually learn anything from this, they would mostly likely continue outside with their fight.

“Ah... That could work, too, but it isn’t nearly as much fun as the cleaning duty...”

The Shichibukai just ignored the commotion that the two Admirals had started up and were rather discussing with each other if Boa should become one of them or not. It was not the first time for them to see Akainu picking a fight with Doflamingo like this; it wouldn’t be the last time either.

“So, we agree on this?” Kuma asked around his fellow pirates, only for them to nod at his question. “Boa Hancock will be getting an invitation to become one of us and you, Hawk-Eyes, will be delivering her the invitation.”

“I never agreed to this!” the swordsman said, a glare firmly settled in his eyes. “When did you decided on this?”

“Tough luck, Hawk-Eyes,” Doflamingo said with a smirk. “We have decided it is you! Better you than us facing the woman!”

_**~Meanwhile back with Boa and her sister...** _

Boa, after having finally made sure that no marines were left, was back on her ship and standing on the figurehead of it. Her sisters were behind her and watching together with her the horizon. The crew had been busy with going through their loot. They were trying to see what was the most useful for them in it. Marigold and Sandersonia gave their sister concerning looks when they saw her suddenly shiver.

It was never a good sign when this happened.

“Are you alright, Onee-sama?”

“A- Aa, I am just having this feeling that something strange is about to happen,” Boa glanced at her little sister. “I am not sure if it is something good or bad, though.”

“Oh...”

“Come on, we have to head back home,” she gave them a smile, trying to not dampen their mood with her talking. “We do have some news for our sisters back home, don’t we?”

“Oh right! You mean that, don’t you?” Sandersonia said with a glint in her eyes.

Boa just gave a smirk as answer, not denying it or saying that Sandersonia might be right. It was supposed to be a surprise for the tribe back home.


	12. Book 2 - Chapter 3 Meeting the Hawk

 

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 2** _

_** Chapter 3 ** _   
_** Meeting the Hawk ** _

 

_**~ Time skip a few weeks later, on some island...** _

Boa let out sigh. She had together with her crew and sisters docked at some no name island to restock on their supplies. Yet, as luck would have it she had only a few hours into their stay encountered one of those dogs for the government. It was Boa’s favourite way of describing the Shichibukai. For in a way, they were the dogs of the government, having the guts to agree and work for them. Where was their pride as a pirate? Hadn’t they started out as pirates because they had wanted to be _**free**_? Wasn’t that the reason for most of them to become a pirate because it meant freedom for them?

Of course, then there were those that had become pirates because of other reasons. It was reasons that Boa could never understand, not that she wanted to understand them. Nevertheless, here she was now. In some bar because one of those mutts of the government has asked it of her, claiming that he had a proposition for her that she could not say ‘No’ to. Boa gave the man with the hawk eyes a deadpanning stare. It was beyond her as to how this man had not been affected by her charms like all the other males, and females, had been ` _Maybe I should try something different with him..._ ´

In the town’s square was all the proof needed to be seen. The people that had been around to witness the standoff between Boa and the Shichibukai were now all turned into stone statues. It still baffled Boa how that man with the hawk eyes had not been affect by her. She knew that her powers had no limits when it came to feelings, especially when those feelings were along the lines of love. ` _Then again, with the face is pulling right now,_ ´ she mused to herself, ` _I doubt that this man can even feel anything at all. The frown is telling me everything I need to know as to what he thinks of love..._ ´

Boa had been trying to ignore the stares from the males around her but it was hard for her with the way they were panting after her. It was disgusting to her how easily those creatures called males could be so easily affected by something beautiful. She was trying her hardest to not just turn them all into stone and leave them like that for all eternity. She could careless as to what would happen to them if she just left them like this. Her patience had snapped when she heard one of the men say something she could rather do without.

“Did you see her legs? Going on forever!” she could hear the man, feeling his eyes leer at her in a way that made her skin crawl. “Imagine those wrapped around y-!”

“SLAVE ARROW!”

Mihawk was watching the woman with interest and something akin to amusement. Yes, he had seen the woman in action via the Den-Den-Mushi but that was nothing compared to the real deal. It was for him quite the show to see Boa Hancock lose her temper like this. Then again, if he were in this woman’s shoes, he doubted that he would have stayed silent and let the men keep talking like this. He grimaced on the inside at some of the comments he heard. His golden hawk eyes trained on the woman punching the living daylights out of the men around them. ` _She does have some power behind her punches,_ ´ he mused to himself when he saw half of the wall missing when Boa punched one of the men through it.

He raised a brow when he saw a giant white coloured snake rise behind Boa up and wrap around the woman like some sort of scarf. What was really odd about that snake was not its odd red pattern on its scales but the fact it was wearing a skull like a helmet. Did that skull have blue hair still on it? ` _I must be seeing things..._ ´

“Disgusting,” Boa sneered at the grovelling males, her displeasure for them clearly seen on her face. “Salome! Why don’t you have some fun with your lunch?”

The giant red snake seemed to let out a hissing laughter before she was slowly unwrapping from Boa and making her way over to the nearest male. Her jaw was slowly opening up, saliva dripping from her open muzzle and her fangs glomming in the light. The few that had not been turned to stone were staring with wide eyes at the giant snake, ` _Monster!_ ´ their minds whispered, and letting out very manly, more like girly, screams.

Boa didn’t really care about this; she wore a pleased expression when she saw her Salome going after those filthy creatures. ` _Salome deserves a reward for this! She has been such a good snake for me. To think that she is still an infant snake and yet, she is already so well behaved,_ ´ she mused to herself while turning her attention back the only male left in the bar. She could feel her skin crawl in a way she did not like with the way that this male was staring at her. It made her feel like she was being judged for something that she had yet to do, she didn’t like this feeling. She tried to school her features into a blank expression, not wanting the man to know just how much his stare was affecting her but it turned out to be more of a grimace.

A grimace stuck between a glare and a frown. She didn’t like how this situation was completely out of her hand in this matter. She didn’t like it that it was a man to boot that was pulling the strings in this meeting. If Boa could, she would have gone and just blown that man off. Yet, it was hard to so when he had told her outright as to why he was here, that the government had send him to her for a specify reason. ` _Bah! Those old goats should better stay away from me and my own. Whatever they have to say, I doubt that it will be of anything value,_ ´ then again, when had it ever been? There was a reason as to why she had become a pirate.

Taking a deep breath, Boa tried to get a tight grip of her temper again. Yes, she would very much like to just go on ahead and bash this male’s head into the nearest wall while having had turned him into stone beforehand. Yet, Elder Nyon’s words were ringing in her ears again.

_“Boa-chan, if you ever come across someone from the government, don’t you dare to agitate them! Keep your cool and not lose your temper on them, it is unwise for any of us to make the government our enemies. I don’t care should that person be male or not, don’t do it! Pirates we might have but even then, it is dangerous for us to be ones. And don’t forget, you are our Empress now, you need to look out for the whole good of the tribe, not just for yourself and your vengeance, you hear me?”_

As much as Boa hated Elder Nyon, she also knew that there was a reason as to why she had once been Empress of Amazon Lily. Those words she was recalling were showing her just as to why. ` _Still, why the hell is that hold hag still calling me ‘Boa-chan’ when I have forbidden her from doing so?_ ´ letting out a sigh, Boa didn’t move from her position. If she was already forced to listen to this man, then she would so while standing. There was just no way in hell that she would go and sit down at the same table as a male, not just any male but a government lap dog at that!

“Speak up already, Government Dog,” she spoke with much venom in her face, her eyes glinting like jewels. “It is already bad enough that this one is forced to be in your presence as it is.”

Mihawk rose bemused an eyebrow at the woman, “I see...”

He was about to continue to speak when he saw how Boa was bending backwards in a way that made him wonder just how flexible the woman really was. He blinked when he saw how she was pointing at him and spoke to him in a venom filled voice.

“Silence, you fool! You do not ‘see’ anything, filth!” the way Boa’s voice was dripping with venom made one wonder why Mihawk was still alive. “If you actually did, then you would know that you should have better stayed away from me and my own. You would not have dared it to drag me into this pathetic excuse of a bar with those creatures that dared to call themselves male in here!”

` _She certainly has a way with words... and she likes it to look down on people,_ ´ Mihawk noted to himself, letting out a silent sigh. Why had he volunteered to talk with this woman anyways when she was despising males so much? ` _Ah right, I hadn’t. Those bastards just send me off like this,_ ´ he scowled at that thought and was already making plans to get them back for this. ` _But first, I have to get this woman to actually listen to me._ ´

That was easier said than done. Boa had meanwhile taken on a normal standing position again and was glaring down at the hawk eyed man in front of her. She hadn’t even an idea as to why this man wanted to talk to her in the first place. She only knew that those weaklings of Marines had called for help, Sandersonia and Marigold had told her as much. Yet, she had no idea why the Headquarters would send a Shichibukai to help them out.

There was something fishy going on there. Boa had yet to figure out what that exactly was.

“Boa Hancock,” Mihawk started only to stop when he saw the way Boa sneered at him.

Boa sneered when she heard how this man dared it to say her name like that. She hadn’t even given him her permission to do so. It would also seem that this Mihawk seemed to have noticed her displeasure as to how he had called her, yet he chose to ignore it. Mihawk really just wanted it to get this over with. He let out an inwardly groan, ` _I just want this to be over with! This is worse than dealing with a five year old child!_ ´

Without giving Boa the chance to reply or open her mouth, no doubt to yell at him for using her name like this, he told her as why he was here.

“Boa Hancock, Captain of the Kuja Pirates and new Empress of Amazon Lily,” he said to her, noting the way she gave him a questioning look. “Yes, we do know that you are the new Empress. It wasn’t really that hard to miss with the way your crew called you their ‘Empress’.”

Well, that answered Boa’s questioned as to how he knew that. Still, that did not mean that she liked being around this male. He was a man, after all. Men were even lower than dirt in her book and it was already getting on her nerves that she had to hear that man say her name like that. She felt dirtied because of it.

“You dare it to call me by name, _man_?” she spat out, her eyes blazing with a hidden fire. “I have not given you permission to do so!”

“I do not care, _woman_ ,” Mihawk shot back her; he snarled his next words out. His patience was running thin with that woman. “Sit down already and begin to act like the supposed Empress that you are and listen to what I have to tell you, insolent wench! You are acting like a five year old child and even then a **kid** would have better manners than _you_!”

Boa could feel how her left eye was beginning to twitch. He did not just go there. That insolent, disgracing being of a human did not just go and compare her to a child! ` _The nerve of that subhuman species!_ ´ She would show this man as to why you did not go and dared it to insult her like this.

“You disgusting, sword swinging, pig of a human!” she screeched out, she could feel how her Haki was beginning to react to her temper. “You _dare_ it to speak to me like _this_? You who has **no idea** just as to whom he is talking to! Let alone  knows the difference between us Kuja and you disgusting government lap dogs?”

` _That foolish woman did not just call me a ‘government lap dog’,_ ´ Mihawk could feel the twitch in his right eye. That’s it. He had heard how many have talked about him and insulted him, those he could easily shrug off. Yet, what Boa was doing with her insult had never once affected him at all. ` _Until now that is, the woman knows just which buttons she has to push, doesn’t she?_ ´

“That’s it, _girl_ ,” Mihawk snarled out, drawing his priced sword Yoru. “If you cannot even speak like a normal civil woman to me, then I have no other choice but use force on you!”

“ **Girl**!?” Mihawk had to suppress a wince at the loud volume of Boa’s voice; he hadn’t thought that she could get any louder. “You are calling me a girl,  little boy?”

Mihawk bristled at that, “Who are you calling a ‘little boy’, _bratty Empress_?”

It was like this was all that those two had needed. Boa had not liked the fact that Mihawk had called her a ‘ _bratty Empress_ ’ and as such had gone ahead with attacking him. Likewise, Mihawk would not stand for her insulting him in such a manner and had blocked the woman’s kick with Yoru. He let out a grunt when he actually felt the force of the kick from Boa. He was actually surprised just how much power in that kick was and how he was pushed back a little by it. ` _An amazing strength she possess._ ´

Boa, not really waiting for Mihawk to do anything, went for another blow. This time she had let herself fall to the ground and was trying to swipe Mihawk off of his legs. Mihawk, having noticed Boa’s doings, jumped in the air and swung his blade down, hoping to hit the woman with it. She would have certainly deserved it. Yet, before the black blade could hit her, Boa had rolled away from it and was already in a standing position in. Her eyes were hardened and her body was rigid, ready to pounce upon the prey that was in front of her, much like a snake.

Mihawk had already brought a good distance between, well as good as he could while being still in the bar. His blade was in front of him and pointing at Boa. His hawk-like eyes were trained on the woman in front of him, waiting for her to do the first move. The first mistake that one of them has to do in this standoff between them, otherwise they would be standing for ages there.

It was actually surprising that nothing had been really destroyed in the bar with the way those two had just attacked each other. If you looked closely, you could see sparks meeting in the middle of Boa and Mihawk, they seemed to be coming from their eyes. It was to this scene that Marigold and Sandersonia arrived.

“O- Onee-sama?!”

_**~ A few minutes before...** _

Marigold and Sandersonia were walking through the town they were currently in. They had been surprised at what had happened at the harbour of the little town between this man and their older sister. They knew Boa very well, so it had come to a surprise for them that she had actually gone with this person, a man at that! That wasn’t like Boa to do so; it worried the two sisters greatly.

Of course, they knew that Boa could look after herself, as she had proven times and times again. That didn’t mean that she would go on her own willingly with a man somewhere, it was something hard to believe for the two. In all those years that they had been together, Boa had never shown that her dislike against the males had dwindled down. In fact, it seemed to be quite the opposite and had grown over the years. So, they were pretty sure that something fishy was going on. They had only seen how this man with the giant sword had said something to their sister. They hadn’t been able to make it out what had been said but whatever it was; it must have been something where Boa could not say ‘No’ to.

Whatever it was that the man had said, it did not seem to be of the good kind either. The way Boa’s face had suddenly gone blank; it spelled trouble for Marigold and Sandersonia. Every time Boa had this face, it never ended well.

“Are you sure they have gone this way, Sandersonia?” Marigold asked, looking around the town. “I don’t like the way these people are gawking at us.”

“Yes, I am pretty sure they have,” Sandersonia answered, sweat dropping at all those stone statues left behind. “Just ignore them, Marigold. You know what Onee-sama said, these people don’t get to see us Kuja here often.”

“That’s not what I mean!” she whined out, stomping her feet. “They look at us like we are some kind of species that they have never seen!”

“Marigold,” Sandersonia said through clenched teeth, trying her best to not lose her temper. “Just ignore them! You know what Onee-sama said, we are just here to get some supplies, nothing more!”

Sandersonia loved her little sister, she really did. Sometimes though, Marigold was really trying her patience with her whining when things like this happened. Of course, she knew why those people stared. It was not every day that one got to see two women walking down their street that could be giantesses. ` _Or it might be the fact that we are Kuja Pirates... Maybe even both._ ´

“Sorry, Sandersonia,” mumbled Marigold, having noticed the snappish tone that her sister had used. “I- It’s just... It has never been this bad when we went to other islands to get our supplies. This is not normal, I tell you!”

“Stop being such a worrywart,” came the hissed out reply. “Let’s rather concentrate in finding Onee-sama before she does something that will leave us in whole different kind of trouble. I don’t like the man that she went with, the vibe he is giving off... It makes me feel uncomfortable.”

“Aa, I know what you mean,” Marigold said with a frown. “My instincts went high ware the moment he showed up. I don’t like this feeling; you don’t think Onee-sama is in danger, do you?”

Sandersonia glanced at Marigold, a frown on her face, “I know what you mean, I just hope it is not... We really don’t need any kind of trouble right now.”

They both fell into silence after this again, both women beginning to fall into deep thought. They didn’t know why but something about this man had been familiar, as if they had seen him somewhere before. Where could have that been, though? They were sure that it could not have been in ‘that place’, the man didn’t seem to be one of those people nor did he seem like an ex-slave. Then again, they knew pretty much every slave that had once been _there_. So, where could they have seen him?

Furrowing her brow, Marigold was very much sure that she had somewhere seen this giant, black blade, too. She was sure that it had been mentioned in the newspaper once together with that male. ` _Or had I imagined that?_ ´ Biting her bottom lip, she tried hard to recall that article she had read. ` _But I am pretty sure that he had been in it; there had been a photo too! What was it about again? I am pretty sure it had something to do with the Marines and the Shichibukai... or did it?_ ´

While Marigold was trying to recall the article, Sandersonia was trying to figure out just as to why that hawk eyed man was giving her such an uneasy feeling. It did not happen often that something or someone could make her feel this uncomfortable. The times it did happen, it never meant anything good for her and her sisters. ` _In fact, it always ended up with some kind of problems which Onee-sama had to bail us out from,_ ´ she mused to herself.

Sighing, she came to a stop at a bar where the stone path Boa made stopped at. Marigold next to her let out a loud groan when they heard a loud crack coming from inside the bar. Boa wouldn’t have done what they thought she would have done, would she? Of course, it was their older sister they were talking here about. So yes, she might have gone and done exactly as they thought she would have done. It wouldn’t be the first time either, if they recalled correctly.

“You don’t think...?”

“This is Onee-sama we are talking here about,” Marigold scratched the back of her head. “It would be like her to do so!”

“... We should put a stop this, shouldn’t we?”

“Hai, we should.”

Both let out a sigh. Straightening themselves out, they made their way into the bar. They didn’t know just what they were expecting to see in there. Whatever it was, it certainly was not this. ` _What the hell?_ ´ they both thought.

“O- Onee-sama?!”

They stared with wide eyes at how her sister and this man were staring at each other, both ready to jump at the other to beat the other into submission. Marigold and Sandersonia traded a look with each other. They both were a bit surprised that Boa had not answered to their call. Yet, what had surprised them was the fact this unknown yet familiar man and their sister attacked each other the moment they had made themselves known.

Boa, not waiting for anything, was already jumping at golden eyed man. Her left leg was ready to kick him in the head only to be blocked by the man’s swords yet again. She let out an annoyed sound when he pushed her back and swung his blade at her. She jumped out of the way when she saw the destruction that the blade left behind with that simple swing. ` _Did I just sense some kind of energy in that swing?_ ´ she narrowed her eyes at the man. Maybe it was time to take this fight up a notch.

Mihawk was eyeing the woman that was in a crouched position in front of him. Something was telling him that she was about to do something that made him regret coming here. He had no idea what it was but he would surely not let his guard down. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her slowly standing up and taking a relaxed position. Her green eyes fixed unto him. ` _Now, what are you up to, woman?_ ´

“You men are all the same, how can you hurt someone as cute as me?” Boa suddenly said, making the most adorable expression she could.

Marigold and Sandersonia both fell over, not believing that their sister had actually gone and done that while being in a fight. Mihawk had actually lost his grip on Yoru making the sword slip from his hands a little. Was this woman for real? Did she really think that this would actually work on him? Letting out a growl, he was about to give the woman a piece of his mind only to stop dead in his tracks.

“What in the name of-!” Mihawk started only to stare in shock.

Boa had made herself as small as she possibly could. On her cheeks was a nice flush and she had her pointer finger pulling at her bottom lip. ` _Are those hearts around her head floating?_ ´ Mihawk thought with a twitching eye. If Mihawk was being honest with himself, he had been in many strange situation and fights. ` _But this is taking the tip of the iceberg!_ ´ His eye seemed to be twitching even faster at that. ` _Does she seriously think that this will work? Also..._ ´

Marigold and Sandersonia, having finally gotten their bearings back, were shaking their heads at their older sister. As much as those two loved Boa dearly, it was still something other for them to see her acting like this. ` _Sometimes, I am getting the feeling that her powers have finally gone to her head,_ ´ Marigold thought with a sigh. ` _And then, I remember the times where she acts like her old self... Onee-sama is just weird like this._ ´ Sandersonia gave a look to Marigold when she saw her nodding to herself and she began to ask herself just what Marigold was thinking about. Then again, she threw a glance at the pose that Boa was striking and already knew just what her little sister might be thinking about.

Mihawk let out a tired sigh when he saw the wounded, and not to forget, cute look that Boa was giving him. He didn’t know why but his instincts were yelling at him to get out the bar as fast as he possible could. He narrowed his eyes at the woman in front of him when she suddenly gave him a smirk.

“Pistol Kiss!”

Before Mihawk knew just what happened he felt something hit him. It felt like a bullet, yet it was none because he could feel no blood on his person or a bullet leaving his body. The only thing he saw Boa do was kissing her pointer finger and then forming her hand into a pistol, aiming it at him. He was about to swing Yoru at her when he felt how he couldn’t move his arm. He even tried to move his legs, they wouldn’t even budge one inch! ` _What the hell has this wench done to me?_ ´ he thought while narrowing his eyes at her.

“You men are all the same,” Boa began, slowly walking over to him. “You all fall so easily to anything that has to do with us females. If it has boobs and a vagina, you men are all the same. If it is not by three up in a tree, you go after them. You are disgusting swines!”

“Onee-sama is at it again,” Sandersonia blinked and tilted her head to the side, “but that attack is a new one!”

“Woman-!” he started but was interrupted by Boa.

“Tut, tut, tut!” she wagged her finger at him, a self satisfied smile on her lips. “I do think my work is done here, Shichibukai. Now, if you will excuse me, you pathetic swine, I have other places to be at. Marigold, Sandersonia, let’s go!”

“Hai, Onee-sama!”

Mihawk had wanted to call after this woman, yell insults at her but he could feel how the rest of his body began to turn into stone. He glared at her retreating back, hoping that the woman would catch on fire and pay for his humiliation. ` _Next time, I just leave those meetings and let them deal with this!_ ´ was his last thought before his head was turned into stone and he knew no more.

“Onee-sama, what was that about?” Marigold asked her sister while leaving the bar.

“Don’t worry, Marigold,” Boa gave her a small smile. “It is nothing of importance to us; we have much more important matters to attend to. Like getting off of this island and going back home.”

“A- Alright, if you are sure,” she murmured out, not really believing her sister.

Sandersonia just gave her older sister a critical once over. She knew that there was more to this strange meeting between that male and her sister. Yet, she wouldn’t go and question her sister about when she did not feel up to answering any of their questions. Boa could be stubborn like this and keep silent as long as she felt like it. ` _Eh, she will tell us on her own. Onee-sama wouldn’t keep something from us that would hurt us in the long run,_ ´ she nodded to herself at that.

“Get the ship ready,” Boa paused in her walking. “I will get Salome and meet you at the harbour, alright?”

“Don’t take too long, Onee-sama,” Sandersonia gave a glance around the area they were in, her tongue flicking around. “Something is in the air... I don’t like it.”

“Yes, something is not right here, hurry up with finding her.”

“Of course, I will be seeing you at the ship.”

With that, Boa took off. The two stared at their sister and how she was hissing. It still surprised them to hear their sister hiss like this, especially when they knew that she could talk with snakes. The few times that they had heard Boa hiss like that, they had just thought she liked to imitate snakes. Yet, when they had seen how the snakes danced to their sister’s tune when she hissed like that. It was strange for them, really.

“ _Salome, that is enough with playing around here. We need to leave!_ ” Boa hissed out when she saw her snake.

“ _As the Mistress wishes_ ,” came the hissed reply from Salome.

Glancing around one last time, Boa turned on her heels and made her way to her ship. Salome was following her Mistress, occasionally hissing at the bystanders that looked too long at her Mistress for her liking.

_**~ Time a skip, a short while later out on the sea...** _

Boa was standing atop the figurehead of her ship and staring out on the sea. Salome had wrapped herself around her with her head resting on Boa’s left shoulder. Marigold and Sandersonia were standing a little behind her. The sea had gone strangely calm the moment the Kuja had set off from the harbour. They knew that whatever this was that had let the sea become this calm when there was no storm, it was nothing good. If there had been one, Salome would have told her Mistress already. The snake was somehow able to tell when the weather changed. They didn’t know how she could do it but they were not about to question it. On the Grandline just about anything is possible.

There was a strange heavy feeling in the air and it was unsettling everyone aboard the ship. It did not help that the sky had darkened to an almost pitch black, too. Yet, there was no sign of thunder or lighting up there. Heck, there was not even rain coming from the clouds, so why was the sky so dark? Did it have something to do with the strange heavy feeling in the air?

“Marigold?”

“Yes, Sandersonia?”

“Do you see what I see?” the green haired woman asked, her eyes trained on a certain spot in front of their ship.

“If you mean that strange blue fog,” the orange haired woman began, eyeing the blue fog warily, “then yes, I do see it.”

“Marigold, Sandersonia, warn the others and change the course of the ship,” Boa said to her sisters, not turning around and keeping her eyes at the strange fog. “I don’t know where this fog came from but something is telling me that it is bad news.”

“Hai, Onee-sama!”

Before the two had actually the chance to leave and warn the rest of the crew, the fog had already surrounded them. The three young women let out coughs when they breathed this strange blue fog in and were trying their hardest to stand upright. Whatever this fog was, it was making them feel dizzy and they felt like their strength was being drained from them.

“Onee-sama, what’s going on?”

“I have no idea, Marigold!”

“ _Mistress, the fog smells strange!_ ” Salome hissed, rearing back when she got too much of it on her tongue. “ _Yuck, it burns on my tongue!_ ”

“ _Salome?_ ”

“Onee-sama!”

Before any of the four knew it, the world around them had gone dark. The only thing they could feel was the fog around them. It was not a reassuring thought. Especially with the way the fog was acting, whirling around them and flashing brightly. It was then that they heard a voice.

“ _ **Who has thought it great idea to write ‘Rose-Lynn Potter’ on this paper and throw it in the Goblet of Fire?**_ ” it sounded like the voice belonged to an old man and some of the words they couldn’t understand.

Before any of them knew it, the fog flashed once more a bright blue which was then followed by loud bang. The three young women and snake were trying to get their bearings back when they noticed the fog slowly going back. It was then that they heard the whispers around them and felt how eyes were staring at them. Maybe not at them but at the fog that was still around.

“Sandersonia, Marigold!” Boa called out to her sister, she wanted to know if they were alright.

“We are alright, Onee-sama!” when she heard them answer, she let out a silent sigh.

That was good, the two were alright and that was all that matter to her. ` _Also, I would really like to know just where the hell we are!_ ´ she thought while looking around the room they were in. She raised an eyebrow when she saw that she was surrounded by children that were staring at her and her sisters with wide eyes. She let her eyes wander around more and was asking herself just where she had landed to see the men dressed in dresses. ` _Just where have we landed thanks to that fog? I know that the Grandline is moody like this... But this...?_ ´

She sneered at the first person she saw. It was a male that was in that strange dress and had greasy hair. ` _This thing shall do for now..._ ´

“You, man with the greasy hair,” she spoke in a cold voice. “On which part of the Grandline are we here?”

“G-Grandline?” the greasy swine stuttered out and Boa had to sneer at how he butchered the word ‘Grandline’ up.


	13. Book 2 - Chapter 4 Pigwarts-Tournament

 

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 2** _

_** Chapter 4 ** _   
_** Pigwarts-Tournament ** _

 

_**~ Time skip unknown amount of time, in some room in Hogwarts...** _

Boa was staring with an unimpressed face at the crowd around her. Marigold and Sandersonia were standing behind her and looking down at the people that were with them. They were clearly not impressed with the way those people dressed and had tried to talk with them. Boa had not answered to any of their questions; instead she had outright ignored them. They could understand as to why she had done this, too. The way those people dressed was hideous and made one want hit those people. Why the hell were the men even wearing dresses? Did they land on some island only for Okamas?

It didn’t really help any matters for the three sisters that they hardly understood what the people wanted from them. Yes, some words they could understand but they used such a strange dialect while talking, it made it hard for them to understand. The only reason as to why they had gone with these people was to find out just where they had landed. After all, the one with the long beard had said he might be able to help them, if they had understood him right. As much as it was paining for Boa to listen to a man, she had to admit that in this situation she and her sisters could only do this. Follow this very old man and listen to him and have him help them or they could try to find something out on their own.

Boa, as prideful and strong headed as she was, knew that wherever they had landed, it was certainly not a part of the Grandline if the way Salome had said with the lack of smell from the sea and salt in the air was anything to go by. Sandersonia had been able to attest to Salome’s statement. It certainly hadn’t been something that Boa had wished to hear from them. It didn’t really help Boa that those strangely dressed people were still ogling her and her sisters like some kind of animals in the zoo when they had still been in the hall. Let’s just say after a quick burst of her Conqueror’s Haki, that matter had been settle. Sadly, the old man had been the only one to be up from it. ` _Then again, I concentrated it mainly on those noisy children and men in the room,_ ´ she thought to herself.

She cast a quick glance around the room they were in. Shelves upon shelves were lined alone the walls filled with many books, the windows were barely letting any light into the room and many candles were lightening the room up. It was no surprise that no light was able to come through the windows with how dirty they were. In the middle of the room was a circle made of chairs and a round table. The old man with the long beard was sitting opposite of Boa who had yet to take a seat while some other old looking people were at his side and looking at them.

There was a tense silence between the groups. It was making Salome restless; she didn’t like the way these people were eyeing her Mistress, especially that man with the greasy hair. He was looking at her Mistress in a way that made Salome want to bite him, wrap herself around his frail human body and squeeze the life out of him. She would not lower herself to eat that human, a human with such greasy hair could not be good for one’s health to eat, she was sure of it. Her Mistress had always said to watch what she ate, one could never be too sure if the food was good for one’s health or not.

The tense atmosphere was broken by Sandersonia not being able to stand it anymore.

“What is it that you want from us, Ossan?” Sandersonia spoke with a hiss, her tongue flicking out.

“Excuse me!” a stern looking woman said, sounding appealed. “Watch your tone, young Lady, and what is that ‘ _ozan_ ’ you are talking about?”

Marigold gave the woman a look and was wincing at how she had butchered up the word ‘Ossan’ like that. Had these people never heard such a simple word before? ` _Seriously, with the way they are acting and talk, it is like they are just learning to speak! They speak gibberish just like a baby..._ ´ Sandersonia glared at the woman who had taken to shrieking when she had, rudely at that, asked that woman what has crawled up her ass and died to make her butcher up the word like this. She was pretty sure that she was in the right.

“I cannot possibly believe this! How can you act and go around dressed like this?” the woman said, trying to guilt trip the three women in front of her, it was not working. “Especially you, young Lady, to wear such impropriate clothes like those.”

“What was that, Baba?” Sandersonia hissed out, she happened to like the way she dressed, thank you very much. “I don’t want to hear that coming from you woman that is dressed like some pathetic excuse of a Mahoutsukai!”

“How dare yo-!”

“Sandersonia!” Boa hissed out, Salome having rising up behind her and was hissing too. “Behave yourself.”

“H- Hai, Onee-sama,” Sandersonia mumbled out, shivering at the frightful picture that Boa made with Salome.

Before the stern looking woman could scold Sandersonia on her language, Boa had decided that enough was enough. As amusing as it was to watch Sandersonia having an argument with that woman, it was not the reason as to why there were here. She also did not like the way how those other people had been eyeing her sisters and her, especially that man with the greasy hair. Something felt off about him, Boa did not like it. She may not like males in general but the feeling she got from this man was not something pleasant. Should that man just step once out of line around her, she would turn him faster into stone than one could go say the word ‘Shichibukai’.

That was actually something that reminded Boa of something. She had been quite curious as to what a Shichibukai had wanted from her. Yet, she had also not wanted to stick longer around one of those government dogs than it was needed. She was quite sure that this would be biting her in the ass should she make it back home.

“Now, now, Minerva,” the old man in his funny clothes spoke suddenly up. “Maybe we should let these young girls have a chance to talk as to how they have managed it to appear in Hogwarts like this.”

“Albus, you cannot mean to-!”

“Minerva,” Dumbledore said in a serious tone. “I know that you might not like this but I have a feeling that these young girls are needed here... Or why else would have the Goblet of Fire brought them here?”

“Ridiculous! You cannot actually believe that an object could have brought these people here!” Severus Snape said with a sneer.

“I think that Professor Dumbledore is onto something here,” Professor Flitwick said, having been silent up until now. “As ridiculous as it sounds, it would not be the first time that an object has brought people to a place. Or must I remind you of the happenings fifty years ago?”

Snape pursed his lips when Flitwick turned to him and said those words. He growled to himself when the dwarf-like man gave him a triumph filled smile. He didn’t like it the way that Flitwick seemed to have been right in this situation. If one asked Severus Snape personally, then he would tell you that this strange appearance of the young women was a plot from the Dark Lord. Then again, he would only tell you this if you were someone he trusts enough to tell you this. ` _After all, the dark mark has grown darker in the past few days, I do not like this..._ ´ the man thought, his sneer still firmly in place on his lips.

Marigold and Sandersonia were eyeing the strangers in front of them and trying to listen in as to what those strangers were talking about. They were not really successful in that matter, most of what was talked about they were not really able to understand. Especially with the fact that so often the words were falling that made no sense to them. What the hell was a ‘wietsch’ supposed to mean? Or what was that ‘Darce Lorede’ that the greasy haired man was always muttering under his breath about?

“These people,” Marigold whispered to her sisters, “I do not like the way they are talking...”

“Un, especially those strange words they always use,” Sandersonia agreed with her.

“Whatever it is,” Boa told them in a gentle tone, her eyes not once leaving the people in front of her. “We should watch out for whatever they may have planned for us.”

“ _Mistress, the eyesore is twinkling at you, I do not like this! Can I eat him?_ ”

“ _No, Salome, you do not know where he has been before_ ,” Boa scolded her snake gently, “ _I do not want you to get sick._ ”

Salome seemed to let out a huff which made Boa only chuckle lightly. Her laughter came short though, when the plumb woman gasped and was staring with wide eyes at her and pointing at her with a shaking finger. She gave the woman a hard stare and glared at her. She did not like the way this woman was acting right now, not all.

“D- Did yo- you see!” the woman shrieked out, her voice shaking. “S- She tal- talked with the snake!”

“Do not be ridiculous, woman!” Snape snapped at his colleague, his ears were ringing because of that loud shriek. “If this woman is really able to talk with snakes, then she must have some kind relations to the Dark Lord! Do you really think that anyone that is in the same league as him would be here? It would be a suicide mission for anyone to come here!”

“Severus!” McGonagall hissed out. “Be more sensitive about this! I heard it too; this woman has spoken with the snake! Albus, we cannot possible let this woman stay here, she would be a danger to the students!”

“Now, now, Minerva,” Albus said in gentle tone, yet it had this scolding nature to it, making McGonagall flush. “You cannot possibly judge a person just because of that they can do, can you? Maybe the young girl and her companions are here to get help from us to keep away from Voldemort and his Deatheaters.”

Boa and her sisters raised a brow when they saw the people flinch when this strange name, ‘Voldemort’, was spoken. It couldn’t possibly be that these people were afraid of some silly name, now could they? ` _Then again, with the way they dress and accuse us like this. I would not put it passed them to do so._ ´ Boa could feel her eyes twitch when she saw how those strangers were suddenly staring at her and her sisters with pitiful looks filled with sympathy. She hated it when people looked at her like this, it reminded her of the time when she had still been a slave and Elder Nyon was trying to talk with her.

It never ended well for the Elder when she was like this around Boa. Sandersonia and Marigold were staring with blank faces at the people in front of them. Whatever it was that made these strangely dressed people look at them like this, they did not like it. In fact, it was making them feel uncomfortable. Salome was eyeing the humans in front of her, while still being wrapped around her Mistress. Somehow, she was getting the feeling as if that old man was about to drop a bomb on them. ` _The human is planning something, maybe I should eat him before he tries something with my Mistress,_ ´ the young snake thought.

Albus Dumbledore was staring thoughtfully at the three young girls in front of him. He was ignoring the whispers of his staff right now and concentrating more on the woman with the snake wrapped around her. He had recognised the young girl immediately the moment he had seen her eyes. He knew that there had only been two women with such eyes. Taking in the fact that one of them was dead, the aged Headmaster was pretty sure that this young girl could be none other than Rose-Lynn, the missing Potter child. He had a feeling in his gut that this young girl, woman but her age compared to his let him think of her as a girl, was James and Lily’s only daughter and Charlie’s missing twin.

Yet, what was really on the wizened, old man’s mind was the fact as to how Rose-Lynn could be this old. The girl was supposed to be fourteen and not supposed to be looking like she was in her early twenties. So how was this possible? It was a puzzle he was very intend in solving. ` _But first..._ ´

“Now my dears!” he said in a joy filled voice, his eyes twinkling when he saw his staff shudder at his tone. “We have yet to decide where you three shall stay! I have already the perfect place for you!”

_**~ Time skip, a week later...** _

Boa, Marigold decided while watching her sister talk down to some blond boy, was a walking time bomb. ` _No, she is a walking, ticking time bomb and only waiting to go off at any time given and at the worse possible moment,_ ´ she corrected herself. It had been a week since they had landed in this strange world. The sisters were sure that this was not their home, or their world for that matter, because of the lack of the sea and islands. Well, it was that and because of the fact that those people in weird dresses were talking differently than back at home and they did not seem to understand the simplest of words. ` _Really, as if it is really that hard to know what the difference between baa-chan and ba-chan is!_ ´

Sandersonia, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying it with the way their older sister was talking down on the blond boy. For her, it was hilarious how the boy thought himself so much more important and of high class that he could just go around and claim Boa as his future wife and dare to touch her. Of course, Boa had not taken kindly to that and had shown the boy just where he could shove those claims of his.

“Ha, the Gaki deserves this,” she said with a smirk. “He has been warned enough times!”

“Still, Onee-sama told us not to draw any attention on us and yet...”

“Let her be, Marigold,” her green haired sister said with a roll of her eyes. “Do you really think that Onee-sama would let something like this just slide? Please, we are talking about Onee-sama here!”

“De- Demo,” the orange haired young woman stuttered out, seeing what her older sister was about to do, “I don’t think it would be wise for her to do this!”

“Bah, the Shounen has been asking for it,” Sandersonia hissed out, giving her little sister a look. “He has been trying Onee-sama’s patience a lot lately.”

“Pistol Kiss!” they heard Boa say.

The students that had come and gathered around Boa and the blond boy since the beginning of their meeting were staring with wide eyes at Boa. Many were looking at Boa in horror, which would be the third year students and up, and some looked at her in awe at how she had just turned the blond Slytherin into stone, just like that. Under those few students were a certain trio of Gryffindors who were equally shocked. Furious whispers were going around the student body and many were reminded of what had happened two years ago when the Chamber of Secrets had been opened.

Ron and Charlie were both giving Hermione a concerned look when they heard her whimper quietly, no doubt remembering her time when she had been petrified. Both were staring at the black haired woman in front of them and how she was sneering down at the stone figure of Draco Malfoy. If Charlie was being honest with himself, then he was pretty sure that Malfoy had been asking for it. He had heard that the blond pounce had been reminded often enough to stay away from this woman and her strange, giant snake. Even the Headmaster had advised the whole student body to keep away until those three would come to them. ` _Doubt that this will ever happen,_ ´ he thought while watching how this woman turned and left.

He glanced at Hermione when he heard her whimper again and traded a look with Ron. His friend gave him a nod and the two began to lead their friend away from the scene, no doubt a teacher already on their way to find out just what was going in the hallways. Still, that did not stop him from wondering just how this woman had managed to turn Malfoy into stone like this.

“What is the meaning of this?” he could hear McGonagall’s voice before he was out of ear shot to hear anymore. “Well? Can anyone explain to me what has happened to Mr. Malfoy here?”

“W- Well, y- you see, Professor,” a student began to stutter out.

Marigold and Sandersonia just let out a sigh before making their escape. They had no intentions of staying around, especially with Boa on the loose and her temper not under control. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

_**~ Time skip, a few weeks later, shortly before the first task...** _

Boa was sitting near the Black Lake of the strange school; she and her sisters had found themselves at. The last few weeks had been eventful to say the least. Since their first day there, Boa had felt trapped in the school and had felt how these so-called teachers were stalking and watching her every move. It was something that she had taken a strong dislike to as more time seemed to pass by. She had, and still does not, like the fact that all those children were watching her and the boys were trying to flirt with her. Of course, she had just showed those silly, little boys just what happens should they even think of trying to approach her again.

Really, they made such ugly statues but it got her point across, no? Sadly, the teachers had not agreed with her and demanded from her turn the children she had turned to stone back. It had not helped that it would seem that the journalist had heard of her appearance and what she had done in the school too. It was all over the papers and it was greatly amusing her that some claimed that she had something to do with the petrifying of students that had happened a few years ago. Boa had outright laughed at their claims which had scared her little sisters. ` _Such silly notions that they have here! As if I would lower myself to such a thing. They have just gotten what they deserved for talking to me in such a rude manner!_ ´ she thought with a smirk.

Also, it should be noted, that most students tended to avoid her at all cost. She found it quite amusing of anyone that was thirteen years old and older gave her a wide breath. It was like they were trying to stay on her good side. It was something that had awoken her curiosity as to why that might be and as such her little sisters had made it their goal to find out as to why that was. ` _Not that any of that matters, they still have yet to figure out how to turn those little monsters back from their stone life_ ,´ she thought, quite satisfied with herself. After all, Boa had not given in to any of the pleading from the teachers to turn them back. She had told them that those loud, little monsters had it coming to them, even with the warning that they had been given.

Strangely enough, the Headmaster had actually agreed with Boa on that matter which had her surprised. Then again, that man seemed to have a soft spot for her which was a bit on the strange, and really creepy, side, if you asked any of the sisters. ` _Not that it really matters, I shall not be staying here long enough to figure this out, we are needed back home. The tribe must be worried by now_ ,´ Boa thought with a frown, stroking over Salome’s head.

“ _Mistress, someone is coming_ ,” Salome’s hissing brought Boa out of her thoughts.

“ _Is that so? Do you know who they might be, Lovely?_ ”

“ _It smells like the two-faced one_ ,” Salome said with a nod.

Boa gave a tiny nod at that. She knew already about whom Salome was talking about. It was the grumpy, limping man with that rotating eye of his. Since the first time she had met this man, she had felt uneasy around him. Something about him was rubbing her in the wrong way and it was certainly not only that strange eye of his. No, she certainly did not like the way the man seemed to fixate on her when she had first met him. The way that Salome claimed that he smelt of two different people, and not in the ‘They smell of mother and father, they must be their child’-way either, was unsettling to boot too.

It had not really helped in any matters that this man was following her around, and not in the love-sick kind of way either, demanding her to tell him how she bypassed some kind of old relict. She was pretty sure that this was just an act of him to be near her for whatever reasons he might have. It was unsettling to say the least. Yet, Boa could not really put her finger on it just as to why this man was doing so. Maybe Salome was on to something about this ‘Two faced’ man.

It was also to be noted that this man, and various others she had yet to meet, said she had to take part in a tournament she had no idea of. As if Boa had time for such nonsense, she had to get back home and see how everyone in the tribe was doing. If the marines had tried to get to their home now that she was gone and not around to protect them! ` _Not that my tribe-sister cannot look after themselves. Still, it would lie my fears to rest if I were around to make sure of it_ ,´ she gave the approaching man a poison filled glare. ` _I have no time for a tournament in this Pigwarts! I am needed back home!_ ´

Boa, smirking when she saw the male thing come to a stop, stood swiftly up from her place. It would do her no good if the man was to try something while she was at the disadvantage, not that she would ever admit to this aloud. She was after all the Empress of Amazon Lily and thus had a reputation to uphold. She doubted this man could do any real damage to her should he decide to attack, yet her instincts told her otherwise. She had no idea just what those stick waving idiots could actually do with their twigs. She was not that keen in finding out either. `N _ot that it matters, as if I let them hurt my little sisters!_ ´

Still, it was better not to tempt fate.

“What, pray tell, do you want here, male?”

The way Boa spat the word out made Moody wince and shiver. This was the first time in his life that he had ever heard, and witnessed, that a person could spat a word in such a hateful way. ` _And I am working for a Dark Lord!_ ´ the man cried in his mind out. ` _Just what have I gotten myself into this time?_ ´ He shivered at the way the face of his Boa-person was darkening. The Dark Lord was so owning him for this one, not that he would ever get a favour back. He doubted it.

He actually began to question himself if it was really all worth it when facing Boa Hancock.

Probably not.

_**~ Time skip, a few days before the first task...** _

Boa was giving the males in front of her a hateful and filled with deep loathing glare. She had known that something fishy was going on around this so-called school. Of course, at first she had no idea just what it was but now she knew and she did not like it. Not liking it was actually putting it mildly, she was downright furious. Those sub-creatures had the guts to now tell her that she was trapped in a binding contract in this idiotic tournament she was supposed to be part of and had to take part in it. It did not really stop there either, those twig waving baka were even going so far as to accuse her of cheating her way into it.

It was after all stated that the tournament was only allowed for the three schools and their students to partake in. She was no student of either school and yet, she was somehow bound to the tournament. If there was one thing that Boa hated more than the male specimen, then it was when someone made decisions over her head and forced her to do things she did not like nor want to do. This was one of those times and Boa saw just red. She had enough of being controlled when she had been a slave for those Tenryuubito, ` _Disgusting, incest loving pigs that they are!_ ´, and when she had been finally freed, she had thought, hoped that she could finally make her own decisions. Yet, these people were trying to tell her different?

Oh no, kind Lady, not with this very pissed off Empress of Amazon Lily! Boa would not stand for this! Not now, not ever again!

Before any of the adults knew what was happening, or that they could get their hands on their wands, Boa was already on them.

“How dare you, filthy creature,” they heard Boa hiss out, while kicking the man in front her to the ground, bending herself back in such a way it was a wonder they heard no crack coming from her back. “You have no right to order me, Boa Hancock, Empress of Amazon Lily and Captain of the Kuja Pirates, around like some mutt! A filthy creature like you has no reason to pollute the air around me!”

Marigold and Sandersonia, who had been at the sidelines, were letting out a tired sighed at their older sister and the way she was currently acting. They knew that their older sister had a temper on her that made even the animals in the jungle around Amazon Lily wary of her when she was in one of her moods. It would seem that this was one of those times. The men, who had introduced themselves as Cornelius Fudge and Ludo Bagman and some other officials they had not cared to remember their names, were staring with wide, heart filled eyes at their older sister. They both let out a sigh at the sight in front of them.

“It is kind of sad,” Sandersonia said with a mock sad voice, “how men can so easily fall to Onee-sama’s charms, ne?”

Marigold nodded at her sister’s words, “To think, she has not even really started...”

“Those idiots are doomed, I tell you!”

“YOU FILTHY PIECE OF TRASH! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!”

Both girls winced when they saw their older sister kick one of the men through the wall. They were pretty sure that this was the so-called Minster of Magic their sister just kicked. Also, if one asked them, they were not really sure about this, for them all of those people looked the same.

“Ah, I told you that this was not a good idea, Cornelius,” Albus said with a twinkle in his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. “Maybe it would be wise to leave Miss Hancock and her sisters alone until she states otherwise, no?”

“B- But Albus!” Minerva tried to interfere.

“Now, now, my dear, I am sure that Miss Hancock has told us already what she thinks of this tournament and her role in it,” he scolded her with a kind smile, making the old woman flush in embarrassment. “It would be for the best of us all to leave her in peace until the tasks are about to begin. Or must I remind you of young Malfoy’s fate?”

“N-No, of course not!” she stuttered out, glancing warily at the haughty looking, young woman. “Maybe you are right, I suppose.”

Boa was giving the assembled people a haughty look, not really caring if she was rude or not. As far as she was concerned, the people had been rude to her first and as such she was in her every right to treat them like she was doing right now. Not that she would actually care what those old baba and ossan were thinking about her. She had her own worries right now, like getting herself and her sisters back home and out of that wacky tournament she has heard about. ` _And yet, I am getting the feeling it will not be as easy as I think it will be_ ,´ she was eyeing the people that were salivating like some dogs around with disgust. ` _Sometimes, I am getting the feeling that this fruit was more of a curse than a blessing._ ´

Just as that thought crossed her mind, she remembered the times that the power of the fruit had actually saved her sisters and her life more times than she would like to count or remember. ` _Maybe not so much of a curse but definitely not a blessing either_ ,´ she grimaced when she saw some of the men trying to come closer to her. Now, that was the last straw.

“MERO MERO MELLOW!”

“ONEE-SAMA!”

_**~ Day of the first task, inside the tent…** _

Fleur Delacour was staring with contempt at the woman that was next to her. She did not like this woman, not since she had first laid her eyes upon her. Of course, that might have something to do with the fact this black haired woman had just about any male and female wrapped around her little finger to do her binding, whereas Fleur had no one that would do her biding. One might be wondering just as to why this was pissing the blond haired French witch off. It was quite simple, Fleur is a Veela and as such she had an allure that was drawing people to her, mostly males. Yet, since that black haired woman, ` _A ‘ussy! I am sure of it!_ ´, had shown up, her allure was not working anymore.

She had no idea as to why that was and it was driving her crazy. Not many knew this but Veela were more of a sexual creature than anything else. Heck, one might just go so far to say they were the cousins to the succubi and incubi when it came down to it. After all, her grandmother had told her many stories of her youth and just what she had done while she had been in her prime before she had actually settled down to have her mother. It still made the young witch blush. Also, it should be noted while Fleur was only a quarter-Veela, it did not mean that her sex drive was anything less than that of a full blooded Veela.

In fact, it was even worse then. Because of the simple fact that she had no real control over her Veela blood because there was so much human blood in her. For a creature that was one hundred percent its species, it was easier to control their instincts than having human blood in the mix too. It was easier for them to control themselves because they had been taught since they have been small how to control themselves because their instincts had always been fully awakened. While for a half breed it was harder because the human blood deluded it so much that it awoke sometime later in their life where it was most of the time too late for them to really train themselves and have any real control over their instincts. In very rare cases the creature blood did not awaken, but those tended to only happen every hundred years or so. There was a reason as to why rough creatures existed.

So, in short, the more human blood a creature had in their vines, the harder it was for them to get full control of themselves. Most of the time, they had no control whatsoever over themselves. In Fleur’s case, it was even worse. Since she had awakened her Veela allure, she had always used it on the male population to get her way and now, that Boa had showed up it was frustrating for her to not have her way anymore. To say that the young Veela was pissed was an understatement, ` _I ‘ope dat ‘ussy dies! She doesn’t look like she ‘as any power at all to face zeh dragon! HA! I bet she does not even know dat we ‘ave to face dragons,_ ´ she thought with glee.

Boa was trying her best to stay calm and not try to turn everyone around her into stone. She had promised it to her sisters after all. She was livid at the fact that those people had dared it to force her to compete in the tournament. It hadn’t really helped to improve her mood that she had to turn that blubbering fool that those people called their minister back. ` _Be calm, Hancock! Do not go around turning people into stone. You promised your sisters that you would behave yourself, and Kami-sama be damned if I don’t keep that promise!_ ´

Boa could feel herself growing restless. Being coped up in this tent for a few hours already was not really helping her to keep her anger in check. Especially with the way those boys were staring at her, she sneered at them and grimaced when she got only love sick looks back from them. Men were such barbarians! She was about to snap at them when someone finally showed up.

“Ah! Excuse my tardiness, ladies and gentlemen,” Ludo Bagman said, sweat pouring down his face. “We had a bit of trouble with the first task, you could say. Nevertheless, let us now draw who shall first face the challenge we have set up for them!”

Boa wanted to kick the man in the face when she saw how he was looking at her the whole time he spoke and winked at her. ` _Do NOT go around kicking people, do NOT go around kicking people_ ,´ she chanted like a mantra, not noticing how the man held a bag out for each of them to draw something out of there.

“Ah, Miss Boa, if you would please...?”

“I have not given you the allowance to address me in such way, you fool!” was Boa’s first reaction when she heard that man address her, she was really not liking this man.

“B- But, you must-!”

“I do not have to ‘must’ anything!” she hissed out, wishing that she could have Salome with her to set her upon this fool. “Do you really think I would actually put my hand this filthy bag and draw whatever is in there out?”

“I- I-! Ye-! Of course not?” Bagman had no idea how to respond to the angered Goddess in front of him.

Viktor, not wanting to wait any longer to start finally and having the beauty in front of him growing angrier, decided to just put his hand into the bag and draw the last miniature dragon out. It was the Hungarian Horntail.

“Der! Can ve nov go on?” he asked, his accent heavy on his words.

Fleur was fuming when she was seeing what was going in front of her. Cedric, ever the peacemaker, was just grinning like a fool while Bagman did not know what to do and Boa decided to just blow them all off. She was looking at the miniature dragon that had been dumped into her hand and actually amused at how it was hissing at her and trying to bite her. A well concentrated mini blast of Haki though, took care of that problem for her. The dragon had become still and was looking at her with wide eyes.

It would make an interesting pet, wouldn’t it?

“N- Now, let’s begin this, shall we?”


	14. Book 2 - Chapter 5 Yes, it can get weirder

 

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _   
_**Book 2** _

_**Chapter 5** _   
_**Yes, it can get weirder** _

 

_**~ First task, Boa’s turn...** _

A silence was going through the whole stadium. No one could actually believe their eyes as to what had just happened in front of them, just what had happened in a matter of minutes. The moment Boa had stepped into the rocky terrain, the dragon had of course tried to attack and roast her alive. Boa, not really liking what that insolent animal was trying to do, did the only thing anyone other of her tribe would have done in this situation. She had kicked the giant, overgrown lizard, her opinion if anyone asked, in the face and send her tumbling to her feet. The beastly mother, not liking being attacked like that, had tried to take a bite out of the human in front of her only to freeze when she got actually a very good look at the human in front of her.

The mother dragon had no idea why but her instincts were telling her this woman was to be feared and that she should be bowing down to her better. They were telling her this woman was an Empress and not to be messed with. If the dragon could actually get Goosebumps, it would have had them all over her scales. The way this female was looking down her and subtly raising her power to attack her again, it was frightening for the young mother.

“D- Did you see that?”

“No way! That can’t be possible!”

“A kick! SHE DID THAT WITH A KICK!”

Boa ignored the loud whispers of awe that went around her and made her way over to the cowering dragon in front of her. It was kind of amusing to her how this beast was afraid her when she had hardly done anything. Then again, everyone should fear a Haki infused kick. Those tended to hurt Logia users a lot, now imagine that being used on someone that has no Akuma no Mi? Then, it hurt even more. ` _My, my... what a cute display of submissiveness, such a good pet,_ ´ Boa thought in sardonic amusement.

“That’s right, little lizard, know your place,” she spoke in a hiss, nearly slipping into the snake tongue. “This is where you belong, beneath my feet and cowering for your very life!”

Ignoring the whimpering dragon at her feet, Boa made her way over to the nest with the fake golden egg she was supposed to retrieve from the dragon. If it were not beneath her, she would have snorted at how easy this task was. The training she had been forced to undergo back in Amazon Lily was much harder than this so-called fight with a dragon. Boa had always imagined dragons to be stronger and fiercer than this pathetic, weak, quivering mess that was in front of her. ` _Maybe I just have given dragons too much credit. Or maybe the dragons here are just too weak, I had hoped for a greater challenge_ ,´ she mused while taking the egg and giving the dragon one last kick when it tried to growl at her when she was at her nest.

“Remember your place, beast!” she hissed out, making her way out of the stadium.

_**~ Meanwhile with Marigold and Sandersonia...** _

The sisters were staring in boredom around the stadium. Somehow, they, too, had hoped something more exciting would be happening when they had heard that the Champions were supposed to be facing dragons. Yet, when they had seen the other Champions fight they had not been able to stop themselves from laughing at how stupid they were being. Especially, that blond haired witch, she had managed it to get herself burned in a way that made it just too hilarious not to laugh about. If they did not know it any better, Marigold and Sandersonia were sure that those so-called dragons were just some mutated lizards.

Or they were just lizards that had gotten their hands on various Akuma no Mi to give them some powers to fight with. Either way, they were truly pathetic. With the way Boa had shown how to fight those dragons too, they were pretty sure that they had given dragons in general too much credit. ` _Or it could be that their dragons are just too weak here... Who knows?_ ´ Sandersonia thought, cackling when she thought about forcing the dragons from their home to fight these ones. ` _But I would need to first find one, wouldn’t I?_ ´

“This was such a waste of time,” Marigold commented, having grown bored after watching the first Champion try to get his egg.

“You can say that again,” Sandersonia snorted, crossing her arms. “Onee-sama looked bored down there... Heck, we had greater challenges with those people it would seem.”

“That or these so-called Ryuu are just too weak here,” the orange haired young woman said. “Maybe we just gave them too much credit?”

“Doubt it, the stories that our elder told us about any Ryuu back home made them seem strong and dangerous,” the green haired woman tilted her head to the side, her tongue twitching. “But these things are just so weak; at least it looks to me like this.”

“Who knows,” Marigold sighed out. “It seems though, that Onee-sama has found a new pet for herself.”

“Aye, you think the Ryuu likes Sea King?”

_**~ Time skip a week later...** _

Boa was staring in contempt down at the men which had dared it to keep following her. She doubted that the reason that the blasted and so-called Minister had anything to do with that. Those fools were currently stone statues and frozen in the most hilarious and degrading pose no man would want to be caught in. ` _Disgusting trash, how dare they?_ ´ she thought seething, walking away from the statues and leaving the hallway they had cornered her in. The portraits that had been fortune, or unfortunate, enough to witness this where oddly silent, they had never seen something like this. Quiet whispers broke out under them as soon as they were sure that the enraged beauty was gone.

Boa frowned when she could still hear their whispers, more like loud talking, while making her way to the Great Hall to look for her little sisters there. She let out a quiet sigh when she thought about the golden egg she had gotten from the one-sided fight against the dragon mother. She had actually no idea just what clue this golden piece could have to the second task that was to happen in a few months. Then again, she did not care for it either. She had other pressing matters to attend. For example, those three students that kept following her around and those strange men that had arrived shortly before the first task was about to happen. If she was honest, it was nearly cute how those three students thought that she had no idea that they were following her and trying to find things out about her, if two of them were not males that is.

Yet, what she did mind was those three grown men that would always stare at her when it was time for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They looked at her like they knew her and were earning to talk with her. It was like they were waiting for something to happen that would allow them to storm over to her and hug her. ` _Why ever would those men even think I would let them close enough and come into my personal bubble? Let alone entertain the thought of them showing me any kind of affection? They are fools to believe that I am whoever this person is that they are looking for,_ ´ she thought with a frown.

Boa was no fool, if one were to ask her. It was not that hard for her to figure what those looks were for, especially when one had a nifty pet like Salome who could spy on people for her. It was an added bonus for her that she was currently the only one that could understand her loyal pet. The only question that kept bugging her was, why were those strange people thinking that she was that someone they had lost so many years ago? She was pretty sure that she had never in her entire life ever met them or heard of them for that matter. On another note, just who was this ‘ _Rose-Lynn_ ’?

“Onee-sama!”

“Hu- Nani?”

Being so deep into her thoughts, Boa was surprised when she suddenly had a face full of Marigold who was looking down at her in concern. Waving her little sister’s worried look away, she continued on to the great hall.

“Ah, Ossan wants to have a talk with you,” Marigold told her sister.

“Is that so?” she mused, glancing around the hall when they arrived there. “Why ever would he want to have a talk with me? I have not once broken any of his idiotic rules, have I?”

Marigold shook her head, “I doubt it and he didn’t really tell me as to why he wants to talk with you. He only said it was urgent.”

Frowning, Boa made her way over to Sandersonia, “If it is as urgent as he claims it to be, then he will have to wait. I want to know what you have found about this place while I was entertaining my shadows and... looking after my newest pet.”

She sent a smirk at the trio that had taken a seat at the lion table and were flushing a bright red. She had talked loud enough for them to hear her which was not that hard, she was passing by their table. Her smirk turned into a look of disgust as she saw the love sick expressions aimed at her when she walked by. Really, one would think that Boa would be used to this by now. She and her sisters were after all for a few months already trapped in this strange world. Then again, which sane woman would want to be used to men, women, boys and girls drooling after them like they were the last piece of meat that one could eat on earth?

` _No one that is actually sane!_ ´ Boa tried her hardest not to twitch as she took a seat between her sisters. Marigold and Sandersonia felt for their sister when they saw just how uncomfortable she was with the position she was in. They knew that their sister might have been able to deal with the fact that all those idiots around her were drooling after her but now that she was supposed to take part in this tournament. Well, that was a different story all together. It did put her in a position where she was always on display for the people to watch her. Normally, Boa would have not cared about this but in this world and with these strange people around her. That was a different story for her.

Sighing, the two giant women gave their older sister a pitying look. At least, it was not them that were forced into this position. Of course, they knew that it was cruel from them to think like this but if they were honest with each other, then Boa was the best of them to deal with all the attention. It might have something to do with the fact that their sister was already the Empress back at home and knew what it was like to be always in the centre of everyone’s attention. Still, _**this**_ was taking it to a whole new level in this world.

“Talk about creepy stalkers,” Sandersonia muttered aloud.

“Tch, I still do not get it as to why we have to stay here!” Marigold said with a frown. “I mean, they told us that Onee-sama had to partake in this tournament because of some binding contract. Demo, Onee-sama was never around here to make a contract!”

“Quite, Marigold,” Boa spoke while glaring at the males around her, fingers twitching and waiting to hit someone. “You would not believe what my beloved Salome found out and what my newest pet had to tell me.”

“Hu? You mean that Ryuu you faced in that so-called fight?” Sandersonia smiled at the memory of the way those wizards had reacted to her sister’s fighting. “It’s still around? I thought those people said it would be gone by now!”

“Well, somehow the Ryuu refused to leave after what happened,” Marigold gave her older sister a look, knowing just what she might have done to keep that dragon around. “In fact, those handlers were quite happy to leave it in Onee-sama’s caring hands.”

Boa only gave a smirk as answer, letting her eyes wander around the hall in search of Salome. ` _I hope you have some good news for me, my lovely, I would really like to know just how this contract has been able to bind me_ ,´ Boa did not like how this contract made her feel restricted to this area alone. She would rather be out of this castle, full with these males and children, and make her way back home. Home, where she belonged and was needed!

_**~ Time skip, a few weeks later...** _

“We should have known that this would be happening,” Marigold said with a whimper.

“We really should have!” Sandersonia said in a squeaky voice, eyeing the happenings in front of her. “Ano sa...”

“We warned them that this would also be happening,” Marigold continued, ignoring her sister’s words. “We told them that this was a stupid idea!”

“Kami-sama, why couldn’t they listen to us?”

One might be wondering just what Marigold and Sandersonia were talking about. It was relative easy. The tournament, as it turned out, would also be having a ball where it was mandatory for the selected champions to show up and have an escort for the evening. Now, there were three guesses as to just whom would not be pleased about this at all. Currently that certain someone was throwing a hissy fit in the Great Hall and not really caring that she was sounding like some spoiled brat that was not getting her way. ` _No one forces or tells Boa Hancock what can and cannot do! No one, especially those bigheaded, blasted males will not!_ ´ Boa gave a threatening glare to the old headmaster, daring him to go against her.

Said aged headmaster just gave Boa a tired look and forced a gentle smile in her direction. ` _So much like her mother when she was not pleased with something and that was against her ideals_ ,´ Dumbledore thought fondly. Of course, the old man did not really care if Boa showed up at the ball or not, it was her decision and she was a grown woman after all. Secretly though, he would really wish for her to attend the ball, just to show her what magic was like, what she could be having if only she would open up to them. So far, he was always met with an iron wall when he tried to talk to her. She was a stubborn one.

“Albus, you have to do something! This is getting ridiculous!” McGonagall said, her voice strained and a tired look on her face. “She hast to attend! It is the tradition!”

“Ah but my dear Professor,” Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes, “she is a grown woman. We have no right to order her around like this. She can decided for herself, also it is never really mentioned that she had to bring a date with her!”

“I cannot believe that I am saying this,” Boa muttered loud enough for the people to her that were around, “but I am agreeing with the Ossan! I will not be attending this ridiculous ball with any date at all! You all should be feeling honoured that I am partaking in this foolish tournament at all!”

“B- But s- such a lovely Lad-!” Bagman started to say, sweating like a pig which made Boa twitch in disgust.

“DAMARE!” Boa screeched out, a furious glare setting upon her face making her look like some kind of behemoth that was trying to eat them alive. “You insolent piece of trash would dare it to order me, Boa Hancock, around like he were of importance?”

“Oh just great,” Sandersonia mutter out and ignored Marigold’s face palm and muttered curses. “She is referring to herself in third person... Now they have really pissed her off!”

“N- Now s- see he-!”

“THIS ONE TOLD YOU TO BE SILENT!” This ordered was followed by a kick and send Bagman flying, not really caring if he was alright, Boa continued with her tirade. “This is your last warning, foolish pig! You will stay away from this one and her own! She will not be so lenient the next time that you would dare to insult her and try to order her and her own around!”

While Boa was having her much needed time to rant and vent out her frustration at Bagman, the staff of Hogwarts was watching this with wide and unbelieving eyes. Well, save for maybe Albus Dumbledore. Normally, he would have felt a little bit pity towards Bagman and the Ministry officials but right now he felt more amused than anything else. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was sure of the fact that this Boa Hancock was the missing Potter child. That and he always had a soft spot for the little girl that had liked his clothes so much. ` _She seems to have adopted my style too!_ ´ the old man thought joyfully when he saw her current dress and smiled.

Minerva McGonagall, just like most of the staff, was appalled at the happenings in front of her. She didn’t care that this Boa was an Empress from where she was from or whatever! That young lady has no excuse to act like the way she did and demand things from them just because she thought she could have them. Her patience had grown thin with having seen the way that the young woman was acting around her students and in general. If that was how an empress acted back where she was from, McGonagall was quite happy that she would never set a foot there, thank you very much!

Alastor Moody, or Barty Crouch Jr. really, was getting even more unnerved with the way that the woman was acting in front of him. He had no idea that this woman would have been chosen as champion when he had entered the name of the Potter girl who seemed to be missing. Why his Lord had told him to enter the girl’s name when she had been missing for years now, he had no idea. Shouldn’t his Lord have been happy that the so-called prophecy girl was missing, maybe even dead? So why try to summon her via the Goblet of Fire? ` _Maybe there is more to the story, especially now that this woman has been summoned instead of the Potter girl,_ ´ the young man thought to himself, while keeping a wary eye on the enraged female in front of him. ` _Also, it is kind of amusing to see the whole Ministry stumble over themselves to please this woman._ ´

Boa, having finally enough of the men in front of her, let out a scream in frustration. She had enough of those fools trying to gain her favour with the way they were acting or trying to force into doing things she wants to have no part of.

“ENOUGH!” she could feel herself twitching all over, the few men she had turned to stone seemed to gain cracks with just her temper flaring up. “You will be leaving right now or this one will show you just as to why she is the Empress of Amazon Lily and feared Captain of the Kuja Pirates!”

Marigold and Sandersonia were staring with wide eyes at the Haki that seemed to leak out of their older sister. It went even so far that it became visible to the naked eye to see. It had the two shudder in fright at the picture that their sister was making in front of them. It was not really doing Boa any favours that her trusted Salome had decided to show up now to and wrap herself around her Mistress and was hissing. Hell, the giant snake was spitting at the foolish men that were so enthralled with her Mistress and were still trying to approach the enraged Empress of Amazon Lily. The few children that had been around the Great Hall were shuddering in fright and in awe at the power Boa was showing and how she was treating the officials of the Ministry and their teachers.

Boa could care less what those people thought of her, though. She was done with being nice to them and now it was her time to show them just as to why you should never anger someone like her. It should also be noted that Marigold and Sandersonia wisely decided to just keep their mouths shut and herd the children out of the Great Hall when they noticed in just what kind of mood their older sister was in. They knew that it did not matter anymore just what they said to Boa, it would make just about anything worse instead of better.

“Now, see here!” the Minister tried, sweating like a pig and not really knowing just what he wanted to tell this Goddess in front of him. The words were just falling out of his mouth in hopes of winning this woman over. “Y- You cannot just sa-!”

“THIS ONE TOLD YOU TO BE SILENT!” the screech was followed by an over powered Haki infused kick; the wall never stood a chance, much less Minister Fudge. “This one has told to you to be silent, worthless pig! She had enough of your idiotic blubbering and trying to win her favour! This one will show you now, how she deals with the likes of you back in her home!”

McGonagall was appalled, never in her entire life of teaching at Hogwarts had she ever seen such disrespect being shown. The old woman knew that Minister Fudge was a fool, through and through. Yet, she had never thought that one should show him disrespect, after all there must be a reason as to why Fudge was still in the office, no? She gave a glance at the Headmaster next to her, pleading with her gaze alone for him to do something, anything to stop this mad woman in front of them. So, it came as a surprise for her when she saw the amused expression on the old Headmaster’s face.

“Al-!”

Before she could ask the esteem Headmaster just as to why he was so amused, Snape beat her to it.

“My, my,” the oily haired male drawled out. “Who would have thought that one gets to see our Minister getting such a dressing down?”

“Serverus!” McGonagall tried to sound appalled at this, yet it was more like a hissing sound that left her lips. “I cannot believe you!”

“Now, now, my dear,” Albus interfered, a smile playing at his lips. “I must admit, I would not have thought that she would go to such lengths. As amusing as they are, I do think she is going a bit too far with kicking them into the walls.”

“Quite,” Serverus supplied, a smirk tugging at the edges of his lips. “The fool does deserve it, though. This memory makes for a good Patronus, would you not say, Headmaster?”

Albus ignored the Potion Master’s question, “I am more worried who will pay for all what has been damaged and the damage that has been inflicted on poor Hogwarts.”

“PISTOL KISS!”

The two men and one woman blinked when they saw how Boa kissed the tip of her finger and were quite astounded when they saw a miniature heart fly from it with such speed. Why did they get the feeling that this heart was not as harmless as it looked like? Maybe it was because it was travelling at such a high speed? Or was it that devious smile that they saw on Boa’s face? Nevertheless, they got their conformation from that thought when they saw the heart hit the Minister and he turned into stone. This Boa was certainly full of surprises, it would seem.

“O- Oh dear Merlin!”

“Now, is that not surprising from that spoiled woman?”

“How interesting, I have never seen such a spell before!”

Boa was seething, simple as that. She had enough of all of these people trying to get their hands on her. They way they had tried to control her. She would not stand for this anymore. ` _I will show them just as to why you never mess with Boa Hancock!_ ´

“You!” she pointed at a ginger haired boy that had the same love sick look on his face like the others. “This one wants you to listen closely, does she make herself clear?”

“Wh- Why yes, my Goddess!” Boa could feel her eye twitch at the way that thing had dared it to address her as.

“Silence, you worthless swine,” Boa was quite happy with herself when she saw the ginger haired pig swallow uneasily at her words. “This one has not given you permission to speak! Only nod you empty head when you need to!”

“Y-!” the so-called empty head did as requested, not wanting to draw the anger of this woman on him, he wanted clearly the opposite of it.

“At least one thing you can do right,” Boa muttered, wincing when she saw the love sick expression got a tad brighter. Maybe she should have kept her mouth shut. “You will tell all the rest of your useless critters to stay away from this one and her own, you will leave this one to her peace and not bother her, does she make herself clear?”

Nodding again, Percy Weasely wondered just why this beauty was so angry at him. He had done nothing to her that should have made her this angry with him. ` _Anything to please the woman and make her like me!_ ´ if only his girlfriend could hear his thoughts now.

“Disgusting swines, each of you,” Boa gave him a look of disgust. “This is the last time that this one has been this merciful to you sub-humans! The next time she will declare war on you and bring you all down!”

“That’s her being merciful?” one could hear Marigold mutter, having come back just now from making sure the children stayed away. “One would hate to see Onee-sama pissed off then.”

“Ain’t dat de truth?”

“Sandersonia, try to take this serious!” Marigold hissed, not liking the amused expression on her sister’s face.

“Maa... We have seen her do worse,” the green haired woman muttered, her tongue flicking about. “It’s about time that Onee-sama shows them as to why the Marines fear us and we have such high positions back in our tribe.”

“That coming from you who had wanted to lay low,” the orange haired, chubby woman muttered, not as amused as her green haired sister.

“-E GONE! OUT OF THIS ONE’S SIGHT!”

Both women winced when they saw their sister kick the ginger haired male through the wall.

“I thought she wanted to make sure-?”

“Urhm, Onee-sama is just trying to make sure her words are stuck in his brain?” Sandersonia offered, sweat dropping.

“Right, sure... I give up!”

“THE WALL! NOT AGAIN!” the aged Headmaster cried out.

“Well, that takes care of that weasel, doesn’t it?”

“SERVERUS!”

_**~ Time skip, a few days later, Godric’s Hollow...** _

James Potter had no idea what he should be doing now. It had been a few weeks, more like months, since his old Headmaster had contacted him and told him that he might have found his missing daughter. He had actually no idea what to do or think about this matter, especially with the way that the Headmaster had looked at him. The look that was clearly saying that the old man was keeping something important from him while he delivered those news to him. If this wasn’t all, James had no idea why he had not jumped at the chance of seeing his daughter, why had he not demanded to see her? Why was he still at home and brooding on what possible what ifs?

Just why was he not at school and demanding answers from the Headmaster as to why he thought he had found his daughter? Why was he still here and not at school and reuniting with his baby girl? Yes, just why was he not? If James was honest with himself, he had no idea as to why he was not doing any of this. Maybe it was because of that overwhelming feeling of guilt that he had every time he thought of his daughter and how she had went missing all those years ago. Maybe it was the fear that was gnawing at him what little Rose-Lynn might thought of him when she heard why he had given her away?

It was so many questions but he got no answer to them. They only swirled more and more around his head, giving him a headache and fuelling this fear, this guilt inside him. It was driving him crazy not knowing what might have happened, what could have been.

“Get a grip of yourself, Potter,” the man muttered to himself, solemnly gazing at a picture of his wife and daughter. “It is not like this would kill you to go there and see if it is true or not!”

After all, he had nothing to really lose now had he? It was not like he had been able to find any leads that would show him or help him in finding his missing daughter, right? The only thing that he had found out in his search for Rose-Lynn was that she’s still alive and nothing more. So what if Professor Dumbeldore had told him should have made him jump in joy, shouldn’t it? So why hadn’t he? Just what was stopping him from doing so?

“Okay, there is only one way to find out and stop driving myself crazy with all those questions,” James muttered to himself, making his way over to his fireplace.

_**~ Meanwhile…** _

Boa was currently not a very happy Empress; in fact it was more like she was downright livid. Sandersonia and Marigold were standing a little way, more like very far, behind their older sister. They could clearly see the way their sister was boiling over in anger and the way that Salome had protectively wrapped herself around her Mistress. It was a scary sight to see from behind, now just imagine getting the view from the front. It was not a pretty sight nor was it anything beautiful, contrary what some love sick fools thought.

One thing was for sure, though. Marigold and Sandersonia were pretty sure that those so called wizards have finally lost it. It was either that or they were seriously this weak willed against their elder sister’s power. They really did hope it was the latter because otherwise they had no idea how these people had managed it to survive this long.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN THAT THIS ONE HAS A FATHER?”

They took it back, those people were downright stupid. Maybe they should have stayed in bed this morning when they had gotten the feeling that something bad was going to happen today.

“Onee-sama doesn’t look very happy...”

“It is even worse than when they had suggested her to go to the ball with a date,” Marigold winced when she saw her sister stomp one of the man into the ground. “Is it just me or is the castle shaking?”

“Eh, not just you...”


	15. Book 2 - Chapter 6 A little Background, anyone?

 

**_The way of an Empress, How it all started..._ **   
**_Book 2_ **

**_Chapter 6_ **   
**_A little Background, anyone?_ **

 

_**~ Shortly before the Yule ball...** _

Marigold and Sandersonia were giving each other worried looks. They had heard the news from their Onee-sama. The old Headmaster had told their older sister that one of her parents was still alive; Boa had not really been the same again. Well, to put it in other words, Boa was downright livid and had gone on a rampage when she had heard it was her father that was still around. They winced when they had seen the trashed room after Boa had stomped off when she had let her angry screech out. Salome had tried her best to brighten her Mistress mood up again, yet nothing had worked and the snake had really tried.

From frightening the children to chasing just about anyone around, nothing had made Boa smile or get her out of her funk. The two women did not like it, not at all. Especially with the way that Boa was angrily muttering to herself. The two sisters had no idea just what it was that could cheer their beloved older sister up again. The only thing they could do was watch how Boa was angrily retreating into herself and destroying just about anything that had to do with males or was touched by a male. They winced when they heard a girly shriek coming from the boy’s toilet. Why were they getting the feeling that there would more stone statues around?

Marigold and Sandersonia shared a glance with each other, trying to get the other one to move and calm their sister down. They knew that things could quickly turn ugly with the mood Boa was currently in, yet none of them wanted to draw that wrath upon them. It was understandable, they had seen just what damage she could cause when she let go of her self control. You can just ask about any of the marines and the ships she had sank of them.

“Sonia, just what can we do?” Marigold asked with a worried frown, glancing at the brooding Boa. “I don’t like the way she is muttering under breath, it spells trouble.”

“Weeeeell, Goldie,” Marigold gave her sister a look at the old nickname, “’cause the last time that this happened, we had to rebuild the public bath house... and we needed a new Amory after Onee-sama was done.”

“Don’t remind,” the orange hair muttered darkly. “Stop calling me Goldie!”

“As if,” she snorted out, smirking at the littlest of them, “but we should seriously think of a plan to make sure that Onee-sama does not do anything that will blow up in her face.”

“For that to happen, we would need to know just what she is planning.”

Both women gave their older sister a worried filled glance when they heard her cackle loudly suddenly. Somehow, they got the feeling that things just got even more complicated for them.

_**~ Time skip, private room of Boa...** _

Boa was sitting comfortable in front of the fire, Salome being used as a chair with her head lying on her Mistress’ shoulder. The eldest of the Boa sisters was staring with a blank look at the cackling fire in front of her, her mind being occupied with just one thought. ` _I have a father_ ,´ Boa couldn’t really believe that thought. Just how was that possible? She had thought that she had been an orphan, after all. She could barely remember anything of the days before she had been found by the Kuja. She had always assumed that her parents had either did not want her or that they had been dead before she got to know them. Either way, they had no real presence in her life, not that Boa could remember it that is.

Well, not like it mattered to Boa. She had already accepted the fact that she might have been a child that was not wanted. ` _Then again, I had my sisters, aunts and cousins to make sure that I knew that I was wanted by them, loved by them_ ,´ she had a small smile at that thought. It had been very hard for her to accept that those women had wanted her the first time she had met them. Boa might not remember why as to why she had been wary at first of them but she did not regret her decision of becoming a part of the Kuja, having Amazon Lily as her home. It was that and the titanboas that had adopted her as her own in a way.

Now though, Boa had no real idea as to how she was supposed to deal with this. Was she supposed to be happy about the fact that one of her parents was still alive, even if it was the male one? Was she supposed to feel anything? If one were to ask Boa, she would tell you that she felt nothing at all when she had heard the so-called news of her father being still alive. Of course, at first she had been outraged. How dare this old coot say that she had still a living parent out there? Also, how dare he claim that it had to be the male one at that?

Boa was no fool when it came to how just babies were convinced. Rayleigh and Elder Nyon had been very thorough in this education after they had found the three sisters. ` _Then again, why had Marigold just to ask where babies came from? I was happy not knowing just how those are made_!´ Boa shuddered at the memory. It was just so wrong having two old people tell you just how babies are made while giggling like some girls that tell each other dirty jokes. ` _Such a very wrong picture to have, indeed._ ´ Sighing, Boa tried to clear her thoughts. She needed to be calm and collected when it came to the matter of her so-called father being still alive. Of course, she had been more than outraged when she had been first told. She smirked a little when she thought about all the destruction that she had caused when she was told.

She did feel sorry that she had caused her little sisters so much worry with the way she had acted. In fact, she had not really been easy on her beloved Salome either. She had not really wanted to but she had no real idea either how she was supposed to deal with this. It certainly gave her a headache. It did not really help her that she was supposed to meet her still living family. She had actually no real desire to meet anyone that might have abandoned her just like that when she had been just a child. Yet, there was some curiosity too. She wanted to know why.

It was really that curiosity that gave her such a headache and made her worry her thumb deep in thought. How was she supposed to deal and react with all of this?

“ _Whatever shall I do...?_ ” she hissed quietly out, the snake tongue had always comforted Boa more than the human one. Maybe it was because no one could understand her then and she could let all her worries out, save for the snakes that might have been around. “ _What do you think, my lovely one? Should I agree to this meeting with my so-called **father**?_ ”

Salome lifted her head when she heard her Mistress address her. She always loved it when Boa called her such names. She had no real idea what they meant but the tone that Boa used while speaking them, it made Salome feel warm. It might be because Boa filled those words always with such affection and smiled at her so warmly when she did so. Salome could easily admit that it was one of the many reasons as to why she had decided to bond with Boa of all the Kuja and chose her as her partner. So far, the young titanboa had yet to regret her choice in partners.

“ _I do not know, my Mistress,_ ” Salome nuzzled a little in Boa’s neck, not really knowing what to say. “ _If it were up to me, I would just eat them all because they made my Mistress angry!_ ”

Boa let out a chuckle, “ _Now, now, dear one, we had this talk already. You cannot eat any of them if we want to go home again._ ”

Boa tried her best to hold her laughter in when she felt how Salome let out a huff against her neck. She was pretty sure that her Salome was pouting right now or as close as a snake can get with pouting. She could really imagine that picture in her head and it made it all the harder for her to keep her laughter in.

“ _Demo!_ ”

“ _Maa, maa, Salome_ ,” she felt how Salome stiffened underneath her when she spoke. It would seem that Salome recognized her tone. “ _I know that you are just doing this to watch out for me, that does not mean that you can just go around and eat anything and everything that seems to threaten me. It was hilarious the first times that you did it._ ”

“ _Mistress, they deserved it and so much more!_ ” Salome was just happy that snakes could not whine, it does not matter what her tone suggested. She was certainly not whining! “ _I just want what is best for my Mistress!_ ”

Boa was silent, reaching with her hand up and stroking Salome’s head. The snake just nuzzled into the hand and enjoyed her petting, watching Boa in silent questioning. She could feel how her Mistress was humming to herself, her whole body vibrating with the sound. Her tongue flickered a little against Boa’s hand, trying to get a taste of her Mistress current mood. It was no use, she could not really get a taste of it, safe for the fact that her Mistress was feeling still angered. Shaking her head a little, Salome unwound a bit of her upper body to get face to face with Boa. She stared unblinkingly at the unfocused gaze of her Mistress and tilted her head a little.

“ _Mistress?_ ”

Snapping back to attention, Boa raised a brow at how Salome was in her face. Did she really lose that much focus of her surroundings that she didn’t notice Salome move? How strange, she hadn’t let her guard down in this strange castle since they first landed here. ` _Yet, I always felt the safest with Salome, didn’t I?_ ´

“ _Do not worry, lovely, you have just given me an interesting idea on how I shall deal with this_ ,” Salome just wondered why her Mistress was sounding so amused while she spoke these words.

_**~ Time skip, a week after the Yule ball...** _

The Yule ball had been a complete disaster. Said disaster had, for once, not anything to do with Boa. Boa, staying true to her word, had not once shown herself all day around the castle the day of the Yule ball, her sister had pretty much stayed with her. She had decided to stay and get her newest pet better acquainted to her and went to her. She had yet to decide on a name for it, though. For Boa and her sisters it was a relative calm and peaceful day, if you didn’t count in the fact that the dragon tried to eat her sisters. Marigold and Sandersonia hadn’t found it as amusing as Boa had, who had laughed and kicked the dragon into the ground.

They had no idea why the behaviour of the dragon was so amusing to Boa but as long as it kept Boa away from causing destruction in the castle, they wouldn’t mind. Now, if only that blasted beast didn’t try to take a bite out of them every time their older sister wasn’t looking. Salome, more or less, had to accept that she had to share her Mistress attention for now. She didn’t like this new rival at all and was showing it every time she could. She would hiss and spit at the dragon while drabbing herself all over Boa to show her claim. It was not like the she-dragon minded, she had yet to get used, if at all, to the fact that she would never get back to Romania. Well, not like she was missing it. The cages, the handlers, the tiny spaces, the lack of flight and many more things were surely not something the dragon missed.

Boa was more amused in trying to train her newest pet. Of course, she had no idea what that beast was saying but a good, old ass whopping always did solve such a problem, no? That was exactly what she did, fight the dragon and show it just who her Empress was from now on. The young Empress saw it more or less as some training while her sister were sparing with each other or trying to not get between those two fighting. It was very hard to stay out of this. So simply put, the three sisters had their whole day planned out and were happy with it.

The same though, was not said about the habitants of the castles. The morning had already started as a day where you would rather stay in bed. First off, breakfast had been a disaster. Somehow, the house elves had not served breakfast like they usually had. Instead the Great Hall had been locked down which no one could figure out why. The Professors had no idea as to why it might be and when the Headmaster had tried to found out, he had come up blank. Normally, the Headmaster could go and do as he liked in the castle. It was designed especially like this so that if an emergency ever came up, the Headmaster had the power to help out or stop it. Yet, Albus Dumbledore couldn’t find out why.

If that hadn’t been bad already, the students and staff had to relocate in classrooms to eat their breakfast and Professor Dumbledore had to cancel all classes or any activities for the day. As far as he knew the castle had locked down the Great Hall because somewhere an emergency had happened and as long as this was not solved, he doubted that even the Yule ball would be happening. Of course, many students had protested but the aged Headmaster was firm in his decision. Fortunately for the students, come lunch time the Great Hall had been opened up again. Still, Dumbledore had no idea as to why it had locked up in the first place. The Professors were just happy that their classrooms were no longer abused as eating halls.

The students for their part were happy that after lunch no longer anything happened to prevent the Yule ball. They would change their thoughts soon enough come evening. It had started out all harmless enough. As soon as the first dance had happened and the buffet had been opened, the first changes happened. As soon as anyone drank some pumpkin juice or anything other which was liquid, they changed into animals halfway. If anyone got their hands on the food, let’s just say one was happy to get away with a simple change of skin and if it came to worse, who knew that a chair could run that fast? The Professors had no idea as to why that happened, they hadn’t even gotten a clue how anyone could have manipulated the house elves to help them or prepare the food and drinks in any way!

They had made sure that the Weasely twins were far away from the kitchens. It would seem, they had not been thorough enough in their attempts to keep them away. It had not really helped any matters that the children got into a complete panic mode and ran rampage in the Great Hall and the rest of the castle. The chaos was truly complete, one might say. Then again, that was not before the halls exploded in fireworks, stink bombs and the likes. It had baffled the Headmaster Dumbledore and his colleagues how the whole evening had gone down the drain in a matter of hours. Secretly though, Dumbledore had already an idea just whom was responsible for this chaos and had to applaud them.

This was a prank worthy of the Marauders, if he had to say so himself.

The evening had been ended shortly after it had started and the rest of the night the teachers had been busy gathering the students up and getting them treatment. The Weasely twins had been blamed for this prank, even though they had denied of ever doing this. Of course, they did say that they applauded the ones for having set this up and getting to play such a prank on the whole castle. That did not mean that they had to like the fact that they got all the blame, though.

Strangely enough, no one had seen any hide of the Boa sisters for the whole day or the next one for that matter. It wouldn’t be until another few days that they would see those three again.

_**~ Time skip, day of the second task...** _

Boa was currently not a happy Empress, in fact, it was the opposite. Ignoring the fact that she had totally ignored the golden egg she had gotten from the dragon, her newest pet, and was now in search of one of her sisters that had gone missing. She was clearly not amused by this and it did not help her that Sandersonia had no idea either as to where Marigold might be. It did not help her at all that she was supposed to have been down at the lake a few minutes ago, it was the day of the second task after all. No, she was not happy nor was she amused. She was this close from just snapping at each and everyone and just make them all rue the day they had met her.

It sounded like a solid plan to her, it would even be better for her if she had her youngest sister at her side. Sandersonia was glancing warily at her older sister and the way her face darkened. Heck, even Salome seemed to be affected by Boa’s mood change if the distant the young titan boa seemed to take on her is of any sign. The murderous aura around her did not really help any of that.

“Onee-sama, we searched just about everywhere!” Sandersonia sounded worried and tired, having been searching for hours now. “I have no idea where else to look, maybe we should ask that Ossan for help.”

The growl Boa let out, made her shiver, “I will not be asking anything male for help to search for my missing Imouto, I don’t care if he knows that castle like the back of his hand or he has helped build it.”

“Demo-!”

“Iie!” the murderous look on Boa’s face was enough to keep Sandersonia silent. “What kind of older sister would I be if I cannot find my little sister?”

“H-Hai…”

Salome, having dared it to come closer to her Mistress, nudged Boa’s side a bit. She had caught an interesting scent just now and she did not like where it was leading it or what it was spelling. It would seem that there was something going on in this castle.

“ _Mistress, I smell the orange one’s scent here!_ ” Salome tasted the air again. “ _She wasn’t alone here… There are many more scents, they lead outside._ ”

“ _NANI!_ ” Sandersonia blinked at the loud shriek hiss that Boa had let out. “ _Where does the scent lead, little one?_ ”

“O- Onee-sama?”

Somehow, Sandersonia did not like how unsettling calm Boa had become nor did she like the blank look she had on her face. Whatever Salome was telling her sister, it wasn’t anything good. Not with the way she was furiously hissing back at the titan boa. ` _I’m having a bad feeling about this, why am I having a bad feeling about this?_ ´

“Sandersonia,” the green haired woman shivered at the cold tone that Boa was talking in, “it would seem that these people have yet to learn to not mess with me or my own. I think it is time to show them just why you do not mess with the Kuja, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Hai, Onee-sama!”

Somehow, Sandersonia just knew that those dresses wearing Okama had just chewed more off than they could handle. ` _Especially with the way Onee-sama looks like right now_ ,´ the green haired woman thought with a shudder. ` _I haven’t seen her this murderous since those days!_´

“Sandersonia.”

“H-Hai, Onee-sama?” she couldn’t help but flinch slightly when Boa talked to her, she did not like the tone that her sister was using. “What is it, Onee-sama?”

“I want you to get the Ryuu and meet up with me at the lake,” the dark tone Boa used made Sandersonia and Salome shiver in fright. “I will meet you there in five.”

“Hai, Onee-sama!”

_**~ Meanwhile at the Black Lake...** _

The judges were getting impatient. It had nearly been an hour since the second task was supposed to start and there was still one champion missing. Of course, it had to be none other than the fourth champion, Hancock Boa. As beautiful as the woman was, it was not excusable for her to be this late and make everyone wait for her. The second task could have already been over but it could never be this easy when Boa was concerned, now could it?

The woman just knew how to cause problems, even if she was not around. Albus Dumbledore might have been the only one that was amused at the happenings. In fact, McGonagall was trying, and failing, to get the Headmaster to listen to her and get Boa to take part in the task. So far, it was not working and the old man was merrily humming under his breath. The champions were annoyed, it was easy as that. Fleur had been complaining the whole time at how cold it was and whatnot. She was the perfect picture of a rotten, spoiled princess currently. Viktor and Cedric had to bear all of it and couldn’t get away because every time they tried, Fleur would glare at them

Madame Maxime and Ludo Bagman had no idea how to keep the girl calm while Karkaroff was scoffing and muttering darkly under his breath. Somehow, no one was really happy with the on-goings. The students that were sitting in the stadium, that been brought up with magic around the lake, were whisperings furiously to each other. They had no idea just what was going and it was getting annoying for them to wait in this cold February air for the champions to start.

“That is enough, Albus!” McGonagall hissed out. “We cannot stand here all day waiting for Miss Boa to show up when she clearly does not want to! We have to start the task any time now; the students are getting impatient as are the champions.”

“Now, now, my dear!” the joyful tone the Headmaster used was giving the stern professor a headache. “There is no need in forcing her to come down here! She is already on her way!”

“W- What, Albus!”

Dumbledore just smile at the stuttering woman, very much amused at her being so at loss. Then again, since Boa had shown up in Hogwarts it had certainly been livelier than ever, hadn’t it? He frowned a little to himself when he could see Boa marching her way over to them. He ignored the reaction from the people around him that began to gush and woo at her appearance. He had already felt how his mental shields had yet again been prodded at. He had a fairly good idea as to why that might be and just as to why all the people were acting like love sick fools when Boa was around.

The wizened Headmaster had the theory that Boa might be having something akin to the allure like the Veelas have. Of course, the allure was something like a mental attack when one thinks about it. It muddled your thoughts and made you believe that the one in front of you was the perfect partner for you and you just had to love them, or lust after them. Either way, it was doing its work on you. He believed that the only reason as to why he and Serverus Snape were not lusting or salivating after Boa like the students and ministry officials were. It might be because they were Occlumens. It was nifty to know how to protect one’s mind, especially when it came to such a situation like this.

` _Yes, quite nifty! I drat to think just what I would do if I did not have this training in protecting my mind. The way I have seen young Hancock use her ‘allure’, it would clearly seem that she has no real control over it. I wonder just how she has gotten it. Or what has given it to her?_ ,´ he mused to himself, keeping a wary eye at the enraged girl in front of it. ` _I wonder how she had even managed it to copy that allure and use it as her own with so much more potency than any Veela can produce. It would certainly explain as to why no one seemed to control themselves around her and immediately ‘falls in love’ with her at first sight. It is quite frightening when one thinks about it._ ´

“It ‘az been about time zat zis woman shows up,” Fleur muttered darkly, not really liking it that the fawning over her had stopped. “Can we move on wiz zis?”

“She looks so beautiful enraged like that!” one could hear the males swoon.

“Ah like a war goddess!”

“She looks so cute like that,” one girl said, a flush on her face. “Do you think-!”

“I just cannot get enough of her!”

Somehow, Dumbledore did not think that Boa appreciate their talking if the darkening of her face was anything to go by with. It reminded him a bit of an enraged animal, a predator, which was ready to strike his next meal down with vengeance. He was trying his hardest to stay calm and keep his posture but with the aura that Boa was currently emitting. It was really hard for him to control himself and not see her as a potential danger against the students assembled and himself. It felt like he was about to face off against a powerful enemy and not try to placate an angered, young woman.

` _It would seem that this is easier said than done_ ,´ he thought sorrowful when Boa reached him. The young woman didn’t seem to be that easy to calm down.

“This one is not amused!” were first words out of her mouth and before anyone could say anything, Ludo Bagman found himself kicked into the Black Lake. “HOW DARE YOU FILTHY CREATURE TAKE SOMEONE THAT BELONGS TO THIS ONE? HASN’T SHE WARNED YOU OFTEN ENOUGH TO LEAVE HER AND HER OWN ALONE?”

Her words seemed to thunder through each person and make them shiver. The boys were staring with a love struck expression at the enraged beauty in front of them and were complimenting her. The girls didn’t know whether to swoon or shiver in fright at their enraged goddess, they chose the first option. Ludo Bagman was pretty much in heaven for Boa had touched him, never mind the fact that she had kicked him into the water with enough force to kill him had he hit anything else. As far as he was concerned, the young Empress had touched him and that was all that matter to him. Karkaroff and Moody while love struck had at least enough dignity to keep themselves in check and no go around gushing like some school girls about Boa behind her back.

Serverus Snape and Albus Dumbledore were idly noting how Boa looked so much like Lily Potter with that angry expression and how she was glaring down at them, if they ignored the fact that she was bending so far back and pointing with her finger at them. It was such a strange way for someone to look down upon one and yet Boa made it seem to be so normal for her to do so.

“Now, my dear girl, do calm down,” Professor Dumbledore tried in a soothing.

“THIS ONE IS NOT YOUR DEAR ANYTHING, OLD COOT!” came the angry screech followed by stomp and Boa straightening up again, glaring down at him. “How dare you old ghoul address this one so familiar when you are anything but trash to her?”

Wisely, Dumbledore chose to not say anything and just let out a tired sigh. He was far too used to this tirade from Boa. ` _I am just wondering what she is talking about... What could we have possibly taken from her?_ ´ he gazed around the lake a bit, trying to find anything amiss and that would clue him in as to why Boa was on a warpath with them.

“Now see here, young lady!” McGonagall started only to be rudely interrupted.

“SILENCE, YOU OLD BAT! THIS ONE IS TALKING AND YOU WOULD DO WELL TO LISTEN TO HER!” screamed Boa, her face turning murderous. If the people were so not in love with her, then they would all agree that Boa was far from beautiful now, especially with Salome rising up behind her and hissing. “This one wants to know where her youngest sister is! She knows that you people have something do with her going missing. You have five minutes to tell her where she can find her before she will raze this castle to the ground!”

It did not really help any matters that Sandersonia decided in this moment to show up with the dragon. Said dragon had picked up her newest mistress mood and was rising to her full height, towering over the people in front of her. The she-dragon was glaring down at the wizards and puffing smoke out of her snout, trying to intimidate them. She knew that it was best to listen to green haired two legger and do as she was told, especially if she did not want her newest mistress to be angry at her. She still remember the beat downs she had gotten for disobeying.

It was not something that she really wanted a repeat of, it was humiliating enough for her that those two leggers her mistress had called her sisters were around. She really had not liked the way that snake had made fun of her when it happened, if her mistress did not like the snake so much it would have been long gone by now. Sandersonia was just as angry as her Onee-sama and was glaring down at the people in front of her. She had forgone her human form and transformed fully into her anaconda one. She ignored the cries of monster that were coming from the students and staff alike; she had other matters to worry about.

A matter that involved their youngest sister and she was not here to play around. This was getting serious now.

“Onee-sama,” the teachers were startled when the giant anaconda spoke, it was so strange for them to see a giant anaconda with green hair and clothes speak. Wait, green hair and clothes? “I have brought Kimiko with me like you ask me to.”

“Good, Imouto,” the cold tone that Boa used was spelling doom. “Now, I shall not be asking again. Where is my Imouto?”

The deadly tone that Boa used coupled with the fact that Kimiko was still huffing smoke at the students and Salome hissing and spitting at them was not really reassuring. It was not really helping anyone to keep calm or make the students stop screaming in fright. It was really giving Sandersonia and Boa a headache.

“SILENCE!”

` _Oh dear, please tell me that they haven’t_ ,´ Dumbledore thought with a horrified expression. He had already seen at firsthand how overprotective Boa was of her younger sisters. The way that she had lost her temper with them had forced them to rebuild at least three classrooms and a few hallways. When Boa let her temper go, then one knew that she was not that easy to calm down again and only destruction followed her wake. It was the only thing that seemed to satisfy her, then. He had now a fairly good idea just as to where Marigold, the youngest of the three, was. ` _Oh, I should have known that they wouldn’t leave this alone!_ ´

“Ah, Miss Boa,” Dumbledore knew better than to push his luck with Hancock when she was this angry, “as you might have figured out by now. The second task is for you to retrieve what you sorely miss from the bottom of this lake. It would seem that the other judges have decided to use your sis-.”

Dumbledore never got to finish because Boa was suddenly upon him. Her expression was void of any feelings and she was staring down at him with glinting green eyes. ` _Just like the Avada Kedavra_ ,´ he thought idly, trying his best to not give into the urge and beg for his life. He knew that he had now absolutely no control over the situation. ` _I should have known that something bad was going to happen the moment my favourite tea cup broke._ ´

“YOU ARE MEANING TO TELL THIS ONE THAT YOU HAVE PUT HER IMOUTO AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS LAKE?” the angry screech was echoing around the lake, making everyone that heard it flinch. “YOU HAVE DARED IT TO PUT HER IMOUTO DOWN THERE EVEN THOUGH YOU KNEW THAT THE WATER WOULD KILL HER? THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE! THIS ONE DECLARES WAR UPON YOU!”

The moment that these words left her mouth had Sandersonia snarling and spitting at anyone. Kimiko and Salome were threatening anyone that had tried to get closer to Boa, snapping at them and spitting at them. The ones that had tried to help the fallen Headmaster had stopped in fright of the dragon, which should have been shackled down, and the words that Boa had spoken. The judges were staring with wide eyes at the Empress that was snarling down at the Headmaster and were asking themselves just what the young woman was talking about.

“Do calm down,” Dumbledore spoke in a calm tone, despite the inner turmoil he was having. “I am sure that your sister is fine and no harm has come to her. The judges were put under an oath to make sure that no harm would befall the ones taken while being under water. If they did harm them, then their lives would be forfeit.”

Boa, not really happy with these words, was glaring at the judges that had stopped. She slowly let up from the old Headmaster and slowly turned to the judges. Somehow, she got the feeling that the old Headmaster had no idea that her sister was taken from her. She ignored the voice at the back of her head that was telling her that she could trust this old man, so far he had always been truthful to his words. Nevertheless, the old man was still that, a man. She knew that she could never trust them, not after Marijois.

Dumbledore had noticed that Boa had yet to go after any of them and tried his last chance in calming her down. It was one of their last chances before Boa would break hell lose on them.

“I am sure that my colleagues made sure that no harm would befall Marigold, Miss Boa,” he chose his words carefully, noting how Boa’s bangs were suddenly hiding her eyes from him. “They certainly meant no harm when they took your sister and they made sure that the water could not harm her down there. As far as I know the hostages are encased in an air bubble at the bottom of the lake while they are put to sleep, the water is not touching them at all.”

Boa had yet to react to any of the words spoken to her. She was listening to the Headmaster’s words while trying her best to not go on a murderous rampage. So far, she was very much proud of herself for still having control of herself like this given the situation.

“You are meaning to tell this one that her Imouto is fine?” she hissed out, calmly making her way over the frozen Headmasters, coming to a stop in front of them. “You are meaning to tell me that those disrespectable people have taken _MY_ Imouto without making sure that this one is fine with her being taken like this? That this one has no reason to worry about anything?”

Madame Maxime and Igor Karkaroff were about to let out a sigh of relief. It would seem that Boa had finally seen reason and would be calm. Dumbledore’s words must have finally reached her and she would stop trying to attack them. If they were honest with themselves, they had not really thought that one of the champions would actually go and react like this when they had taken the hostages. Then again, the Headmaster of Hogwarts had warned them to not include Boa into the second task at all. He had told them that he doubted that woman would take this in any good way and not see it as an attack on her person. So, they had been a bit confused when Albus Dumbledore had said he would keep out of the choosing for Boa’s hostage and he had said that she would just receive zero points from him in this task. They could clearly see as to why that was. They still did not really trust themselves to speak with the way Boa made her presence known to them in front of them.

It felt like they were being put under a high pressure and slowly being squeezed too tightly for them to breathe properly. It was for them a first to have magic used on them in such a way. Certainly, Hancock Boa was one formidable witch if she could use her magic in such ways on them. They were just happy that they had been able to solve this issue before anything violent could happen with these many students out and about. Oh how wrong they were.

Boa was most certainly not finished with those two, she was far from it.

“This one has still a bone to pick with you.”


	16. Book 2 - Chapter 7 Father & Daughter

_**The way of an Empress, How it all started...** _  
_**Book 2** _

_** Chapter 7 ** _  
_** Father  & Daughter ** _

_**~ Time skip, unknown amount of time, Hogwarts...** _

Albus Dumbledore let out a heavy sigh and gave his colleagues a disapproving look. Karkaroff and Madame Maxime had the decency to at least look ashamed. Since the day of the second task, the whole Hogwarts castle had been buzzing with gossip of the day. It had certainly not helped that Rita Skeeter had somehow heard of what had happened and had been printing about that disaster filled day for a week now. He had no idea just how that blasted woman had heard of it but he would be damned if he let her have any kind of victory over him like this. ` _What is really bothering me, is the fact that she has been silent about the whole tournament until now_ ,´ he frowned at that thought.

Then again, he had more pressing matters to attend to than that journalist. The more pressing matters did include, like finding a suitable punishment for both of his colleagues. They had endangered a life after all. He could still hear the tirade that Madame Pomfrey had given when they had gotten Marigold out of the lake. The young woman was so pale and her lips blue, her whole body had been shaking. Young Hancock and Sandersonia who had just been a few seconds away from going on a rampage had frozen up in shock at seeing their little sister in this condition. ` _I don’t know whether I am relieved that they didn’t or afraid that I have yet to hear from those two since that day_ ,´ Dumbledore frowned, not liking this silence that was going through the castle.

Then again, maybe he should count his lucky stars that Boa and her sister had yet to go on a rampage that no one can stop. He was sure that no one was ready for this yet. ` _Still, those two need to be punished for having nearly killed Marigold_ ,´ the wizened, old man let out a sigh. When Marigold had come out of the water in the state she had been in, Madame Pomfrey had immediately rushed to the girl’s side. He could still hear the woman’s furious shouts when she cast spell after spell on the shaking body. The way the woman had yelled at how much she needed help here. That she needed another medic-wizard here from St Mungo’s because the way things were looking right now with Marigold, she alone would not manage it. He closed his eyes briefly, not wanting to go down that thought.

He had already enough on his plate from Madame Pomfrey who was lying in his ears about her patient. Now, he had also to deal with the punishment that Karkaroff and Maxime had to be given. Those two had gotten themselves into such a deep hole; Dumbledore had no idea if he with his influence could help them out of it. ` _Especially when this gets out in the open_ ,´ a sorrowful sigh left his lips.

“You two do realize just in what kind of trouble you are in, don’t you?” Dumbledore asked them, not waiting for an answer he continued. “As of now, I hereby exclude you from this tournament as judges and I temporally relieve you of your positions as headmasters of yours schools. Your deputies will be taken over temporally as heads until we have found a solution for your behaviour or have found suitable substitutes.”

“You cannot do that!” Karkaroff snarled out, not liking what Dumbledore was implying right there. “You have no right-!”

“Now, Igor,” the way Dumbledore sounded silenced Karkaroff before he could run his mouth off, “you will find out that I actually can do. According to the old rules of the tournament, which haven’t been changed at all, another Headmaster can eject other Headmasters from their position should they endanger not-participators of the tournament. Guess what the both of you have done?”

Madame Maxime, wisely, had kept silent throughout that short exchange. The woman wasn’t stupid. She knew the old rules of the tournament and she also knew that they had not been changed at all. She counted her blessing that she had at least the foresight to read through the rules should she ever get herself in trouble. ` _It iz good zat I ‘ave found at least one loop ‘ole in it_ ,´ the woman thought to herself. However small that loop hole was, she was sure that she could use it to keep her standing as Headmistress for her school.

Karkaroff didn’t seem to have freshened his memory up for the tournament rules. Then again, it was his loss and not hers. It was something that she could work with. She was brought back to the present when Dumbledore talked again.

“Now, I want you two to stay away from this tournament,” Dumbledore gave them both a displeased look. “Should I just hear that you have even thought of coming near the Champions or anything or anyone that is involved with the tournament, I have you faster being thrown out of the Hogwarts’ grounds than you can apologize for breaking this rule.”

He held a hand up when he saw when they both tried to protest. He wouldn’t give into them like that; he had to think of the safety of his students and their students first. He knew that most purebloods thought of him as an old coot that needed to be put in the retirement home, especially with this view on the society that they had now. It might not help his case because of his eccentric choice in clothes and his own personality. Then again, who could go around and point their fingers at him to blame him?

He had no other way of coping with the loss of his beloved younger sister and he could just remember so vividly how Adrianna loved loud colours and anything that went against normal. He had no idea where his sister got that love from but he had never minded. It had made her unique. ` _But I have other matters to attend to first; I can dwell in old memories later_.´

“Do believe me when I tell you this,” Dumbledore’s voice sounded even to him so very old, older than he felt right now. “I would love to have you two still in the jury but I cannot let this slide and I have to take action in this. I know that you two haven’t done this on purpose but the people will not see it in such a way, especially with what Rita Skeeter has been writing lately. I am sure that you have seen the slender that she has written about not only you two, have you?”

“Of course, we ‘ave!” Madame Maxime tried her best to not screech or lose her demeanour; it wouldn’t be fitting from someone of her standing. “T’is woman ‘az no idea wit’ wat she iz mezzing, ‘az she? Ef we were in France zat woman would ‘ave lozt ‘er job fazter than one can zay Beauxbatons!”

“Let’s not forget that in Bulgaria we do love a good hanging when it comes to offending the wrong people,” Karkaroff sounded oddly pleased with what he was saying; Dumbledore couldn’t fault him at that. “But for her, I doubt the people would stand for that, if you get my meaning, old friend.”

Sighing, Dumbledore just gave Karkaroff a look while Madame Maxime seemed to be agreeing with the Bulgarian Headmaster. Why hasn’t that surprised him at all? Of course, with just what Rita Skeeter had been writing about the tournament and them, it was a given. Even he felt offended at what she wrote and dared to write about. He would mostly just see it as amusement on his part, and would have still thought so, had this woman not dared to write Hancock Boa in the way she had. While Dumbledore knew that this young woman was not the same little girl that he had adopted as his adoptive granddaughter, his heart was not so easily swayed.

It was still hoping for the day that the lively, young girl would come back and greet him like she had all those years ago. He knew though, that this would not be happening any time soon, if at all. Not with the way Hancock seemed to have grown up.

_**~ Meanwhile with the Boa sisters...** _

Boa was pacing restlessly in the Hospital Wing while Sandersonia had her eyes trained on the unmoving body of their little sister. It had been two weeks since Boa and Sandersonia had unleashed hell upon the tournament and yet, there were still no signs of Marigold waking up. Of course, Madame Pomfrey had assured the two women that Marigold was now out of danger, now that she was taken care of not only by her but medi-witches that were experts when it came to a nearly drowned, nearly frozen to death person. Still, it did not make those two lessen in worry.

They had seen Marigold when she had first been brought out of the water. How her giant body had been shaking uncontrollable, her lips such a deep blue, the bruises underneath her eyes and her pale body, it had made Boa nearly lose control. She couldn’t lose her youngest sister like this, not after all the things and that hell they had faced. She knew that her sister was made of stronger stuff but it was this accident that reminded her that Marigold was still the youngest of them, the most fragile when it came down to it.

Boa was certainly not used to see any of her sisters in such a weakened state; she never wanted to see them in it any way. Yet, she was forced to sit at her sister’s bedside and watch on helplessly for Marigold to wake up on her own. It didn’t matter to Boa that the old nurse had told her that Marigold would recover, she wouldn’t stop worrying until she had seen her little sister up and about and telling her so herself.

“Mari...”

Sandersonia was muttering darkly to herself while watching her two sisters, her eyes not once leaving their forms. She had no idea just what those dress wearing people were thinking when they stuck their little sister down there but she knew one thing. They still had gotten off way too easy if you ask her. ` _If only I had gotten to them first, then those blasted wanna-be majo would rue the day they saw it us the first time! What were they thinking?_ ´ She glanced at Boa who had suddenly stood up, she looked in the direction that Boa was looking and just hissed quietly to herself.

She didn’t like feeling of being so helpless in this situation. She could do nothing but watch as the old nurse busted around her younger sister’s bed while the other nurse was waving her stick around her sister. She didn’t like the fact that she and her Onee-sama had no choice but to watch on as others made sure that their little sister was taken care off. It made her feel useless, like she didn’t deserve to look after her little sister, especially with what had happened. Marigold did look better now, she had some colour back in her face and the bruises around her eyes seemed to vanish with each day, which she had to admit. She would always see the image of her weak sister who had just gotten out of the water.

That uncontrollable shaking, pale form of Marigold which had Sandersonia collapsing on her knees while Boa went on a rampage and destroyed everything around her. It had surprised Sandersonia that Boa had not gone immediately after their heads from those responsible; instead she was more concentrated in bringing destruction to her surroundings. `A shame she hasn’t taken their heads! They deserved it,´ she scowled when she remembered the screaming children. ` _Their screaming hasn’t certainly helped matters, has it? The ossan had to step in and make them calm down... Not that it was working with Onee-sama around..._ ´

She frowned darkly when she remembered that Boa had only stopped her rampage when the old nurse had began to yell in just what danger Marigold was in. She had never seen her sister go so pale before, not even when those Tenryuubito had wanted them to fight to death. Sighing, she made her way over to her sister who was worrying her thumb, keeping a hawk’s eye on the nurses tending to their little sister.

“Onee-sama?”

“What is it, Sonia?” Boa sounded distracted.

“What did she say? How’s Mari?” you could hear the worry in her voice with the way it shook. “When’s she going to wake up, Onee-sama?”

“I... I cannot tell you, Imouto,” Boa took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying not to think of the worse. “They said she might wake any moment but it could also take months for her to wake up.”

“SHIMATTA!”

Boa gave her sister a look, “Calm yourself, Sandersonia! It wouldn’t do any good to us to lose control like that, especially to Marigold.”

Sandersonia just looked away, frustration clearly shown on her face. Why hasn’t their sister woken up already when she was clearly improving in her health? It was very frustration to the giant, green haired woman. She was not really someone to wait on something to happen. She had never really been a patient person to begin with. Still, now that she was being forced to wait, it was killing her. That she’s standing at the sidelines and wait for any signs from Marigold.

Boa glanced at Sandersonia, her eyes softening when she saw the frustrated expression on her face. She knew exactly how her sister was feeling. She is in the same boat as her right now. Not being able to do anything to help, only being able to sit by, watch and wait. Boa had always hated the waiting game, even when she herself had applied it onto others and used it to her advantage. Still, this was different, it was forced upon her. She didn’t like it when something was forced upon her, surely a trait left to her from her days as a slave.

Sighing, Boa turned her attention back to the nurses that were catering to their sister.

“Sonia,” said woman let out a grunt, showing that she was listening, “you remember about the fact that my _**father**_ is still alive, yes?”

That word always left a bitter taste in her mouth; it didn’t matter how often Boa used it. It just made her feel like it was the most disgusting thing that one could say.

“What about it, Onee-sama?” the green head tilted her head to the side, her tongue flickering out, trying to get a taste of what was going on around her. “I thought you didn’t want anything to do with him or even acknowledge the fact that he exists?”

“Saa...” somehow, Sandersonia did not like the way her sister’s eyes were shining, it had something forbidden about them. “I might have an idea how to go about this whole _mess_ , Imouto.”

Yes, she definitely did not like the way Boa’s eyes were shining nor did she like the way that Boa was grinning. It was spelling trouble for her.

“I am not going to like what you are about to do, am I?”

Chuckling, Boa gave her sister a smile, “I wouldn’t say it would be you that is not going to like what will happen. I may have found a way to get myself some entertainment out of this.”

“I-... Well,...” she was at a loss for words, she really did not like where her Onee-sama was going with this. “I hope you know what you are doing, Onee-sama.”

“Oh, I do, Imouto, I certainly do.”

_**~ A week later, somewhere in Hogwarts...** _

James Potter felt nervous. Never mind the fact that he had never felt this nervous, not even when he asked his precious Lily-flower to marry him. Yet, now that he had been told that his daughter, his adult daughter at that, wanted to meet him. Well, that was a different matter altogether, wasn’t it? He had no idea just what kind of person he would meet. He had no doubt it that he might, or will, meet a complete stranger. James Potter knew that he was a lot of things but being disillusioned was not one of them.

He knew that while the person he was going to meet was his daughter, it didn’t mean that she would act like she was happy to meet him. ` _Or that she will be happy at all to meet me,_ ´ he thought mournfully. He really doubted that she would happy to see him, not after what he had been told by Albus Dumbledore and how his daughter was behaving. It was such a far cry from what he had in his memories of her. It was like she was the complete opposite of what she used to be. Then again, he doubted he could blame her. He had no idea just how she had grown up and where. So, who was he to judge his daughter and the way she grew up? He knew if Lily was still around, he would have a lot to answer for. Well, that and he doubted that she would have ever agreed in giving their daughter away, especially to Petunia of all people.

So now that he had dug his own grave, he had to lie in it too. He winced a little at that thought. Maybe none of this would have happened if he had given his little girl to Sirius like his old friend had asked of him. Maybe he should have just endured the visits from him and seeing his little girl, then. ` _But asking myself those questions isn’t going to change anything, they are not giving me the answers I would really like to hear, now are they?_ ´ he frowned to himself and let out a tired a sigh. He was really getting way too old for any of this.

“And I have yet to meet her,” he muttered to himself, rubbing his temple. “I am already giving myself a headache with all those thoughts and doubts, this isn’t really helping me.”

To think, he had agreed to meet with his daughter here in Hogwarts today. He had no idea how this meeting would go, much less what he was hoping to happen in it. He had never really thought that he would ever see his daughter again. He had to admit that to himself when he had searched for her all those years, that maybe his daughter, his little girl, never wanted to be found by him. It wasn’t easy to accept for him. Yet, after all those years of ‘ifs’ and ‘maybes’, he would finally see his little girl again. ` _Well, she isn’t that little anymore, now is she?_ ´

Before he could continue with his depressing thoughts, there was a loud knock on the door. He swallowed the lump down that had suddenly grown in his throat. It was now or never; finally he would meet his daughter and find out just what happened to her.

“Enter!”

James hoped that his voice was as strong sounding as he had hoped it would. Well, in his head, at least, it did sound strong. He kept his hazel eyes glued to the door that was opening, his breath being stuck in his throat. He could feel his heart beating furiously in his ribcage and he was pretty sure that it was loud enough for the world to hear. He was suddenly very nervous.

“Get a grip of yourself, Potter,” he mutter lowly to himself, his eyes not once straying from the opening door. “You faced Voldemort for Merlin’s sake and did not once feel nervous while doing so!”

He swallowed again when the door finally opened and could only stare in shock at the person that stood in the doorframe. He had to blink a few times to make sure that he was not seeing any things. `Well, she certainly is tall!´ was his first thought, his second thought was more along the lines of this:

“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU WEARING, YOUNG LADY!”

James had expected many things to see. He had expected to see an angry teenage girl, a girl that would wear clothes that any teenager wore nowadays, he expected a broody girl and he expected a happy girl. Yet, he never expected **_this_**! ` _I knew it! I should have kept Albus away from her when she was smaller! I **KNEW** that his weird taste for eccentric clothes would wear off on her, I KNEW IT!_ ´ James certainly was speechless with just what his little, well she was not that little anymore, girl was wearing.

Boa was wearing one of her usual dresses, well for her that is. It was pink in colour and with yellow skulls on it while a fur trim was at the bottom hem of the dress. Her cleavage was proudly displayed while a necklace was dropping into it. It didn’t really help matters that she was wearing snake earrings. James could feel a twitch develop in his right eye. There was just no way that his little girl was going around wearing such indecent clothes! ` _I knew it, I **KNEW** I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED ALBUS FROM COMING OVER!_ ´ he thought while trying to get his opened mouth to close.

While James was busy with trying to get himself under control again and trying to say something, anything really. Boa didn’t really know what to think of the male in front of her. Certainly, he was not like she had first expected him to be. She knew that her face must be blank and void of any emotions currently while she studied the male in front of her. James Potter, as she had been told her father was called, was a weird man, simple as that. She had no idea how anyone with such a rat nest for hair would willingly walk in public like that. Let alone those horrible glasses the man was wearing.

The way he was dressed though, it certainly showed that he was not into wearing those horrible dresses like the others so-called majo, ` _Or would it be mahoutsukai? He is male, isn’t he?_ ´ She really did scowl at that thought, another reminder that the male parent had was still around instead of the female one. Nevertheless, she was not here to complain to herself which parent had survived and which hadn’t or to have a staring contest with that subspecies in front of her. She had a reason to be here and she had plans that were connected with that reason. She would be damned if she let that idiotic male ruin her perfectly crafted plan like that.

` _It would seem that I will have to do the first step in this meeting_ ,´ sighing, Boa tried her best to remain calm and not shudder violently in disgust with what she was about to do next. ` _It certainly goes against anything I have been raised and believe in. I hope this doesn’t come back to me and bite me in the ass later._ ´

Swallowing the lump that has suddenly formed in her throat, Boa opened her mouth, “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Father.”

_**~ Scene change, at the same time in the Hospital Wing...** _

Marigold had no idea where she was. The only thing that she was aware of was the darkness around her; it seemed to swallow her right up. She didn’t even have an idea just where this place is, whatever it was supposed to be. Heck, Marigold didn’t even know if she was sitting, standing, upside or whatever position she might be in. It was really hard to make any sense in this darkness. For all she knew, she might be lying on the ground. Then again, she couldn’t really feel any hardness beneath her, ` _If I feel anything at all in here. I mean, I cannot even feel any wind on my face or smell anything in here_.´

She couldn’t even remember having done anything that would put her in such a place. The only thing she did remember was going down the hallway, one of the many, that was leading to the Great Hall. She furrowed her brow in thought, ` _Was this really what I was doing?_ ´ Huffing quietly to herself, Marigold tried to figure out if there was more to it.

Crossing her arms, she tilted her head to the left side, deep in thought. ` _Okay, let’s try to recap here. I remember going down that blasted Hallway that changed at least four times its direction, I remember stopping in front of a suit of armour that didn’t want me to pass... Then what happened?_ ´ She remembered hearing a loud popping sound and a giggle coming from the suit of armour to come. ` _Oh right, those chibi were suddenly jumping at me_.´

Marigold could still remember the first time that her Onee-sama and herself had first stumbled at those little wrinkled creatures. She and her sister had been hungry and had Salome lead them to where she could taste the kitchen might be. It had surprised her that the kitchen was hidden behind a painting. ` _Then again, it shouldn’t surprise me anymore. I have seen weirder things happen in this castle_ ,´ she nodded to herself, still lost in that memory. If she remembered right, some of the cross-dressers, she doubted that any man out of his own free will dressed like that, had shown them just how to enter the kitchens. Boa certainly did know how to use her powers for her benefit.

In the end, when they had finally gotten rid, being turned into stone by Boa, of the males, they entered the kitchens. The sight that had greeted Marigold and Boa was not what they had expected. They had expected many things to see, but seeing little wrinkled creatures, having the size of toddlers whirling around the kitchen, was not one of them. Also, when they had seen some of them punish themselves, talking loudly to themselves how they had messed a chore up, had Boa flaring her Haki and those creatures had frozen up. She had seen the big eyes of those beings, they were huge but the moment they had felt Boa’s Haki, they grew even larger and Marigold was pretty sure that their eyes would pop out. She was surprised when they didn’t though and instead began to squeal loudly how ‘ _Young Mistress and her Giantess would surely need something of them!_ ’

It might have been the last straw for Boa and herself if she was being honest here. She shuddered when she remembered just how her sister’s face had gone completely blank and she had demanded an explanation from those tiny creatures. Funnily enough, those house-elves, as they had learned they were called, were not even one least bit affected by Boa’s powers. In fact, the few times that Boa had tried to use her Mero Mero Mellow on them, they had just giggled it off. The house-elves had then exclaimed that they had never felt such strong and potent magic before while trying to swarm Boa. ` _It had been a funny picture when I think about it, still it is unnerving how they are so devoted to work only_ ,´ she was disgusted with what those mahoutsukai had come up with.

Marigold had been surprised by her sister mostly while this encounter had happened, though. She knew that Boa was vain in a way, only wearing the most beautiful of outfits or the cutest. She was sure that their whole tribe was at fault for that. While Boa had never really cared before for her outfits or any beauty for that matter when she was younger, it changed when they got back home. It might have something to do with the fact that their tribe hailed her as strongest and they knew that Boa was beautiful, as such they had claimed that the more beautiful one was, the stronger they had to be. ` _Sadly, this case only fits with Onee-sama because of the training she does... and the Colosseum back in **that** place!_ ´

Still, Boa had not once tried to kick out or sneer down upon those chibi. It had baffled Marigold for a long time. It hadn’t been until they had left the kitchens after this strange scene that she asked her eldest sister as to why she hadn’t lashed out upon this creatures.

_“Mari-chan, do you really think I can go against those chibi when they remind me of us when we had been with those monsters? They are not treated any better than us have been! I will not lower myself to any of their standards and kick them anymore down than they already are, I would NOT be any better than either of them, would I?”_

Since then, it was never really that strange to find her sister with one of those chibi around her. Heck, Boa had somehow managed it to get the chibi to buy her clothes for herself and her sisters. While Boa had wanted different sets of clothes, unique to her taste, Marigold and Sandersonia were fine with what they already had. So, Boa had made those chibi get her little sisters many sets of their current outfits. ` _To think that those baka are good for something!_ ´ Well, maybe not the wizards themselves but their gifts to her sister were. They did sell for some pretty good money.

“Urgh, but I am not here to remember the past, I am here to find out just where this place is and how I got here!”

Then again, maybe it would take some time until she figured out just where she was at, `Might as well bring some happy memories up!´

_**~ Time skip, later that very same day, Black Lake...** _

Sandersonia was pacing along the shore of the Black Lake. She felt restless and uneasy. It certainly did not help any matters in calming her down when that blasted Sensei had gone and thrown her out. It is not like it was her fault that she was worried for the littlest of them all, is it? She had responsibilities as an older sister, damn it! Boa wasn’t around for Marigold currently; therefore it fell upon her to keep a watchful eye on her Imouto. ` _Kuso Baba! How dare she keep me away from my Imouto?_ ´ Sandersonia could feel her anaconda side surfacing. She heard it hiss angrily in her mind and demand from her to take this woman’s head for even thinking of keeping them away from her nest mate.

Hissing to herself, Sandersonia ignored the piercing stare she would feel on her. She already knew that it belonged to the Ryuu. It wouldn’t have been the first time that the overgrown worm had stared at her like that, ` _Or Mari-chan for that matter_.´ Great, that really hadn’t helped her in getting her mood up again. Still pacing like her life depended on it, Sandersonia tried to get her mind off her little sister. Letting her eyes wander while her legs kept walking, she found herself looking at one of the many towers of the castle. Spitting in the direction of the stone building that had taken her two sisters from her, well more like she was thrown out for being in the way in the Hospital Wing, made Sandersonia’s stomach churn in an unpleasant way.

When had a churning stomach ever felt pleasant, though? Maybe it was just the atmosphere around the castle that made her so frustrated and agitated. ` _Why did you have to meet that man today, Onee-sama? I know that you have a plan but really, I could really use you here right now!_ ´ Sandersonia made a face when she heard just **how** whiny she sounded in her own thoughts. That was just great, she began to feel like a little brat that whines and grouches whenever it never gets what it wants or things do not go its ways. ` _Maybe I have grown too depended on Onee-sama?_ ´ She couldn’t really remember a time where she hadn’t had Boa around to fall upon when times were tough. ` _She’s always there when you need her, always there to catch you..._ ´

Sighing, Sandersonia let herself plop down on her butt. Looking up at the blue sky, she blinked when she felt tears prick at her eyes. It was just so frustrating her that she could do nothing but wait on news for Marigold. Why couldn’t she be like her Onee-sama? Her Onee-sama was currently trying to get that man she called her father to ‘ **help** ’ her in getting back at those wanna-be Okama. ` _And what am I doing while she talks with that male? Sitting here and willowing in self-pity!_ ´ Yes, what a great help she was.

“URRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!”

Kimiko, who had been keeping an eye on her Mistress’ nest mate, let out a startled sound at the sudden yell. Well, it was more like she blew some nasty smoke out of her nostrils and swallowed her own fire down before she realized just who had screamed. The green haired anaconda had been the one to scream like that and it made her curious as to why that was. Yet, it also made her very angry for being pulled out of her light daze she had been in. Just what was wrong with that anaconda that was hiding herself under the two-leggers?

Puffing some more smoke out, the dragon laid her head down on the ground again. She would keep an eye on that wanna-be two-legger and make sure that she did not do anything stupid while on her watch. The Great One only knew that the blasted snake would taunt her more if she let anything happen to those that her Mistress considered a part of her nest. It was already bad enough that she was reminded; daily at that, by that young snake she was not as important. Puffing some more smoke out, she let out a tiny growl, not minding that it scared the fauna around her. It was better that she was left alone for now. She was in a foul mood.

“ONEE-SAMA, HURRY UP AND COME HERE SO WE CAN ANNOY THAT BABA AGAIN!”

That yelling was certainly not improving her mood, quite the opposite of it.

_**~ Somewhere in Hogwarts...** _

“Charlie, did you hear? Your father is in the castle!” Hermione told her best friend who had just stumbled into the Gryffindor common room. “Why didn’t you tell us that he would be here?”

“Wha-?” Charlie blinked at his bushy haired friend in confusion. “What are you talking about, Mia? I am pretty sure my father isn’t even supposed to be in Britain right now. He told me that he is supposed to be on some meeting of the Lords in France. I think it was something about an annual meeting of who got the prettiest wife or something.”

Giving her friend a dirty look, Hermione tried her best to not lose her temper on him, “I am pretty sure that meeting, whatever it is about, would certainly not be about ‘who has the prettiest wife or something’. Honestly, don’t you ev-!”

“OY! Those weren’t my words,” Charlie protested, interrupting Hermione and asking himself when she would murder him for doing so. He knew just how much she hated it to be interrupted. “Those were Dad’s words, if you want to blame someone, then him! I am innocent!”

“Of course, you are innocent,” she muttered under breath, ignoring his outcry of protest. “That doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t tell us that your father is here instead of going to that meeting, then!”

“I told you, Hermione!” the girl winced when Charlie used her name instead of the nickname he had for her; it was a good sign that he was getting angry with you. “I have no idea that my Dad is here, I am pretty sure he was supposed to be out of the country.”

“Then, wouldn’t he have told you he would be here instead not telling you at all, mate?” Ron’s voice came from behind him. “I mean, mate, you and your pops are pretty close, right? Why would he be silent ‘bout this? He loves spending time with you!”

Blinking, Charlie nodded at his best mate’s words, “So, whatever my father is doing here, then. He doesn’t want me to know about it, right?”

“Oh no, OH NO!” Hermione started, already feeling a headache coming. “CHARLUS EDWARD POTTER! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU SUDDENLY START SOME CONSPIRING THEORIES ON YOUR OWN FATHER JUST BECAUSE HE HAS NOT TOLD YOU THAT HE IS HERE IN HOGWARTS, YOU HEAR ME!”

“Woah, mate, you reckon it’s her time of the month?” Ron whispered, while keeping a wary eye on Hermione who was glaring daggers at them. “Or did the twins piss her off with one their pranks again?”

Charlie just shrugged, “Beats me. You know how she is. Maybe the classes are finally getting to her?”

“I did tell ya that too many classes are bad for your health!”

“Sure, mate, sure,” snorting, Charlie ginned at the red head. “But seriousl-!”

“You two!” Hermione screeched out, not liking how those two were ignoring her and making fun of her like that. “We are not here to discuss our classes!”

“Woa, the world is ending! Hermione doesn’t want to talk about classes!”

Charlie snickered when he saw how red Hermione went in her face. He knew that she would get him back for making fun of her like that later on, yet he just couldn’t resist it. He knew that Hermione just wanted to have a serious talk with them but he certainly didn’t feel like it. ` _And also, what if I want to think that my father is conspiring about something? That’s my deal, isn’t it?_ ´ he frowned a little to himself. ` _Seriously though, just what is Dad up to? Why didn’t he tell me that he is here?_ ´

“ARGH! YOU TWO!” Hermione’s scream brought him back to reality. “I cannot believe you two! I know that you are trying to keep me from talking with you two about Charlie’s need to always think that someone is conspiring! Really, this is a serious matter. Not everyone has it out for you!”

“Blimey, Hermione!” Ron tried to calm his enraged friend down. “It was just a joke, take it easy!”

“I will certainly not take it easy when our friend thinks that his OWN father is conspiring against him!”

“Oy! I never said that!” Charlie protested and winced at the look that was fixed on him by Hermione.

“Oh no, you do not get to talk yourself out of this, my friend!” she hissed at him while advancing towards him. “We will talk about this issue of your or so help me!”

“Ron, you h-!”

“Sorry, you are on your own in this, buddy,” the Weasley was already backing away from the angry female, not really wanting to be dragged into this talk. “So, I will just uhrm take my leave yea?”

“RONALD WEASLEY, YOU WILL STAY WHERE YOU ARE!”

Both boys winced at the angry screech from their friend. It would seem that they wouldn’t get so easily away from her. ` _As long as I don’t suffer alone from this_ ,´ Charlie thought while trying his best to be as small as possible. ` _I am surprised no one has come to the common room yet to check on us. I mean, Hermione is screaming more than usual..._ ´

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I have decided to make an account here too and I am currently playing around with posting here. So, if things get messed up, please do tell me. I am trying to fix it, then. And yes, this is CPR, like the one from Fanfiction.net. No, I did not steal my own work. Thanks for reading


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